


May the stars guide us home - a Finalizer story

by cliffdiving



Category: Star Wars, Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Action & Romance, Angst with a Happy Ending, Armitage Hux Has No Chill, Banter, Betrayal, Dopheld Mitaka is a cinnamon roll, Enemies to Lovers, Evil Snoke, Female Friendship, Finding a home, First Order life, Fluff and Humor, Found Family, Mind Control, Redemption, Sexual Tension, The General and the Princess, Tritt Opan is a badass, bad childhood memories, bad space aliens, denial should be a separate deck on the Finalizer, evil force users, feelings so many feelings, from those arrogant First Order assholes to what did you just say about my First Order friends, holodrama addicts, it is smashing it to pieces with a hammer, non-canon compliant after TLJ, pouring gasoline over the wreckage and setting it on fire, snoke finally explained, stormtroopers - Freeform, tell me there is a plan b, that is not crossing the line, the finalizer crew saves the galaxy, this goes against First Order regulation 321b
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-29
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-05 18:55:27
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 198,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25590196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cliffdiving/pseuds/cliffdiving
Summary: And it is in our darkest hours...Fallen out of favor after Kylo Ren’s ascend as Supreme Leader General Armitage Hux has lost his place of prominence within the First Order. He and his crew onboard of the Finalizer are sent on a mission to the Outer Rim to investigate a series of strange disappearances clearly meant to get rid of them....that a lonely guiding star...Selene noe Sa’onserei, Commander in the Zidaya fleet and heir of Ellesmee, would do anything to put an end to the unknown threat against her people, even work together with the hated First Order. If the opportunity for a little sabotage to help the Resistance may arise, even better....may shine the brightest.But out in the Outer Rim a much worse danger is lying in wait. And if they can’t put aside their differences, there might be more at stake than their lives, hearts and sanity: namely the fate of the whole galaxy.
Relationships: Armitage Hux/Original Female Character(s), Dopheld Mitaka/Original Female Character(s), Masir Trach/Original Female Character, Tritt Opan/Original Male Character, minor Finn/Poe, minor Rey/Ben Solo
Comments: 60
Kudos: 30





	1. Shadows stirring

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please find a list of characters at the end of the chapter

Prologue

Dappled sunshine shone through the golden and red leaves of a sweeping jacinda tree in the middle of an elegantly tiled courtyard. A tall, dark-haired man made his way through the arched doorway leading to the streets. He sighed contentedly, as he put down his heavy backpack.  
Stars, it was good to be home again, he thought.

Suddenly he straightened, his right hand slowly straying to the blaster on his hip. A soft rustle had disturbed the tranquility of the courtyard.  
In a split second, he went from relaxed and exhausted to alert and battle-ready. There were still those out there, who would love nothing more than to catch a former First Order officer unawares. 

“Ahhh...,“ a small humanoid came running from one of the wooden courtyard doors throwing herself in his arms with a happy squeal.  
“Daddy, Daddy! You are home!“ she giggled. 

Blue eyes, so intense they almost appeared turquoise, shone with unrepressed joy. The man ran his hand through dark brown locks so much like his own, holding the little girl tight against him for a long moment. 

“Where are your mother and your troublemaker of a brother, Kira?” He asked her.  
She crunched her little nose adorably, but before she could answer, quick steps sounded on the tiled floor. 

The dark-haired man smiled broadly at the small woman, dressed in a simple beige tunic and dark green leggings accentuating shapely legs, coming through the same door the girl had entered from shortly before. She threw herself in his arms with a laugh not unlike her daughter, her thick blond braid flying over her shoulder.

“Thank the stars you are back, Masir,“ she said pulling him down into a loving kiss.

“Uh, gross, can’t you find a room?“ A petulant voice commented. 

The speaker’s brown hair and blue eyes were nearly identical to the little girl’s, but while she was still showing the chubbiness of early childhood her brother was tall and lanky, already reaching nearly to his father’s shoulders. A whole gaggle of children of various ages and hair colors, their excited chatter filling the previously tranquil courtyard, followed him. 

“As you can see, we again seem to be overrun with little monsters,“ his wife stated with a mixture of amusement and exasperation.  
“It’s the repair shop. It draws them like flies,“ he murmured, before leaning in for another kiss.  
“We should start charging our friends.“ 

“No wonder Tasim Patu says you are the poster boy for unallowed fraternization, Dad,“ his son quipped.  
“What?“

“Don’t worry, he says the same about my Dad,“ with white blond hair permanently disheveled and striking green eyes his son’s best friend had inherited his parents’ good looks.  
“Oh, and that you are all whipped.“ 

“That kriffing...,“ Masir shook his head. Not only did Patu always try to overcharge him on spare parts - transport to the Outer Rim couldn’t be that expensive - now he badmouthed him in front of his own children.  
“Language,“ his wife chided.

“I bet he doesn’t say that to your father’s face, though,“ he told the blond boy.  
“Oh, no,“ he said, his cheeky smile growing even wider. “He is not that stupid.“ 

“How did you and Mommy meet?“ Kira asked tugging on his trousers.  
“Daddy says we are too young for this story. We must at least be ...,“ a pretty girl with thick red curls and golden brown eyes interjected holding up her hands to count.  
“Eighty.“  
“You mean eighteen..., “ her blond brother corrected. “And you may be too young, you are still a baby. But Tan and I are already ten.“ 

Masir could partly understand their father’s sentiment. There were parts of this particular story he would rather forget ever happened and other parts that were quite delicate to put it mildly. 

Still he had always been an advocate of honesty, even if it got him into trouble more than once.  
He sat down on the little bench under the tree, the children gathering around him eagerly.

“Well let me think ... where to start.“  
“He is going to kill you,“ his wife cautioned.

“You would rather have them hear that story from a Corellian junk trader? Can you imagine what he would tell them? Better we tell it ourselves,“ Masir answered with a grin.  
“Furthermore, what can he do? Sent me to the sanitation department?“

“It’s your funeral,“ she said with a shake of her head. 

“Is it a scary story?“ a little boy with big brown eyes and dark brown skin asked a little concerned.  
“Well, there are some scary parts,“ Masir deliberated. “But always remember it has a happy ending.“  
“Are there space battles? And blaster fights?“ Tan leaned in eagerly.  
“Are there pretty dresses? And kisses?“ the girls wanted to know.  
“Ew, it is not a kissing story, or?“ Tan made a face. 

“Age appropriate, Masir,“ his wife reminded him.  
“But those are the good parts,“ he protested.  
“I meant the violence,“ she laughed. “And no swearing.“ 

“Fine,“ he began. “It is a romantic story in a way yes. But it also has fights. More than I want to remember to be honest. Oh, and star ships. Many of them. A beautiful princess. A general. Hot shot pilots. Loyalty. Betrayal. Danger. Adventure. Friendship. Love. Hate. Monsters and heroes,“ Masir’s eyes became distant. “And sometimes they were one and the same.“

His voice changed, turning to the soft cadence of a storyteller.  
“Once upon a time in a galaxy far far away... there was a star ship called the Finalizer.“  
“What kind of ship?“  
“A resurgent class star destroyer. Nearly ten thousand feet long, more than 1500 ion cannons, a crew of more than eighty thousand at full capacity.“  
“Oh, wow...“

“The crew was certainly the finest the First Order had to offer. Capable, experienced and good-looking. Their wing leader was probably the best pilot in the whole galaxy and…“

His wife snorted. “You wish...“  
“Oh fine, the best pilot in the First Order,“ Masir amended. 

“The conflict with the Resistance had been going on for almost seven years. Kylo Ren had just become Supreme Leader. The First Order had the upper hand at last. However, the mission that should become the most dangerous we ever accomplished, the one that irrevocably changed our lives forever, did not begin there. No, it began deep in the Outer Rim. There shadows were stirring...“

Chapter One - Shadows stirring 

And it is in our darkest hours, that a lonely guiding star, may shine the brightest.  
\- Rhea noe Sa’onserei, First Shue of Ellesmee 

Outer Rim - First Order dreadnought Victorinox

Lieutenant Helena Tak stared in dismay at the dozens of error messages popping up on her console screen.  
“Trevor,“ she hissed as quietly as possible to the young officer on the console next to her. “What are you doing?“ 

Trevor Merchant looked at her with confused brown eyes. “That isn’t me. I don’t know what’s wrong.“  
He hectically began to click on his own console, most likely only making it worse. 

Tak sighed. It was quite clear that he got his post mostly due to political connections and not any real ability as a Navigations officer. Quite the opposite to her, who made her way from Belshar, a backwater planet in the Mid Rim, to the First Order Academy through hard work and dedication. She had quietly corrected some of the mistakes, he had made since his transfer from one of the Core Worlds two weeks ago, but this was getting out of hand. 

A First Order warship was no places for errors and she knew she should have left him to deal with his own mess. Her peers at the Academy had always told her she was too nice. That was probably why she was still a lieutenant after more than ten years of service for the First Order.  
Before she could lean over to have a look on his console, clipped steps sounded behind her.

“What is the matter here, Lieutenant?“ Captain Orea’s cold voice came from directly behind them. 

Kriff, Tak thought. Nearing her sixties, grey hair secured in a tight bun, Orea was mostly fair, but she did not have any patience for incompetence. Trevor had begun to sweat profoundly, seemingly unable to give an answer. 

“According to your sublight read outs we will collide with an one hundred thousand feet long unknown object in approximately 30 seconds,“ the Captain’s voice was scathing, as she leaned over him to have a look at his console. “Do you think that to be even remotely possible, Lieutenant?“ 

“Captain,“ a shocked voice interrupted. Tak looked up to see everyone staring out of the bridge’s main viewport. 

Where only seconds ago there had been the familiar star-studded expanse of deep space, there was only darkness now. Something so impossible large and dark, that it seemed as if it had swallowed all the stars was closing in on the Victorinox at light speed. 

“This is not possible,“ Captain Orea’s voice held a mixture of disbelief and panic. 

The whole bridge began to shake like a leaf in a storm before anyone could react, a shrill cacophony of alarm sounds starting as dozens of systems simultaneously split out a warning. Then the ship groaned, turning to the side suddenly. Tak tried to grab her console to stabilize herself but to no avail. The world tilted around her in a blur of durasteel and flashing lights. People were screaming, as they were thrown around like ragdolls. 

Tak gasped loudly, when something hard suddenly stopped her fall, sending shots of pain through her back. The bridge was completely plunged into darkness, as if all systems had collapsed at once. Tak could hear her own panting breath in the sudden silence, only interrupted by someone groaning in pain. 

Why are the emergency systems not taking over? She thought frantically. She could feel icy cold starting to seep into her body. Were even the life support systems down? 

She could not even begin to fathom what had happened. Had the Resistance attacked them? Or had that been some kind of black hole? An unchartered space anomaly? 

“We have to get out of here,“ Captain Orea’s voice sounded from somewhere in the direction of the bridge’s entrance.  
“Initiate evacuation protocol D. Full scale evacuation.“ 

Tak tried to ignore the pain still lingering in her back and started to get up. She could hear other people doing the same, some swearing as they collided with something in the still pitch-dark space. 

Stumbling, the lieutenant made her way in the direction, where she suspected the walkway leading to the emergency capsules was located. She had been assigned to capsule number four she remembered.

Now she had a protocol to follow, she felt some measure of calm returning. They would evacuate and surely be picked up by another First Order vessel. The Colossus should be somewhere in the vicinity. Although to her knowledge, they had not even been able to send out a distress signal, everything happening too fast. 

Relief flooded her, when she realized that there was light in the corridor. Some systems seemed to be still active at least. Although the light was strange. Flickering and yellowish, not at all like the normal harsh, artificial light on board of a star ship. And it was cold. She never felt that cold ever before in her life. Even in the flickering light, she could see her own breath misting the air.

Something was not right. Her body reacted quicker than her mind to an unseen threat, goosebumps travelling down her neck, a shiver going through her. The shadows in the corridor began to move erratically, jumping around like something alive and in pain. 

There was someone standing at the end of the corridor, a tall figure clad in dark robes. The Lieutenant felt a sudden incomprehensible terror at the sight. 

Captain Orea took a step inside the corridor and drew her blaster. Her back ramrod straight, face calm, she looked still every inch a First Order officer despite a small bleeding cut on her brow. 

“Who are you and what are you doing on my ship?“ she inquired aiming the blaster at the stranger. 

A rasping laugh came from the dark figure. “Oh, I always liked the defiant ones.“ 

A bone white, elegant hand raised out of the robes. “The time to feast has finally come.“ 

A sharp flick of the hand and the captain was thrown against the corridor wall by an invisible force. She landed with a sickening crack, her blaster clattering to the floor unfired.

Tak could not completely suppress a scream. She wanted to turn around, wanted to run, do anything to get away from here. But she couldn’t move, her body seemingly frozen.  
The shadows closed in on her, getting more solid in the process, robbing her of her sight. Their touch felt like oily ropes of darkness, caressing her body. She could hear Trevor begging for mercy somewhere to her right. 

“Oh my dear, your fear tastes delicious, “ a voice whispered with a dark edge of pleasure in its tone.  
Then there was only pain.

Outer Rim - Zidan System Capital Ellesmee

“I have to say I am pleasantly surprised by your request for help,“ Allegiant General Enric Pryde’s stern unmoving face on the holo screen could not completely hide the flicker of violent glee in his pale blue eyes at the turn of events.

Oilena noe Sa’onserei, Shue of Ellesmee, smiled indulgently, as if the General of the First Order was simply a slightly misbehaving child.  
“But Enric, you do know how much we here in Ellesmee treasure both the support of the First Order and your personal goodwill. Who else could we turn to in a time of need?“ 

For all her outward show of support the question hold just enough hints of a threat to impress they were no mere supplicants. 

Selene could not help but admire her grandmother’s elegant poise and steely will. The defacto leader of the Zi’daya was seated alone in a simple chair in front of a holo transmitter, her ice blue mech dress reaching to the floor in flowing, shimmering swathes of fabric. 

In her seventies, Oilena’s face still held the extraordinary beauty of her youth, only tempered by a lifetime of experience. Her light, nearly white hair brushed her shoulders in luxurious waves, the color not a sign of age but a distinctive family trait. Only someone knowing her well would see the aversion in her catlike golden eyes, the tension in her body betrayed by a slightly too stiff bend to her shoulders. 

Selene herself was still nowhere as proficient as Oilena in hiding her true feelings. She was quite thankful she was sitting out of view and did not need to school her features into some resemblance of pleasantness while contemplating murder.

“As much as it pains me to say, we are still at war with the Resistance,“ Pryde bared his teeth in a smile, that probably was supposed to appear charming, but only looked predatory.  
“In these times I can simply not indulge in any personal favors. However high my esteem for you might be, Oilena.“ 

The room behind him, cold grey durasteel walls utilitarian in their bareness, could not have been a starker contrast to Oilena’s background of warm wooden walls covered in vines partly in bloom. Pryde seemed to be alone as well, though Selene suspected a whole room of First Order officers, if not the whole High Command, were with him. 

“It would only be prudent for ... friends to support each other in every way possible,“ Oilena chose her next words carefully.  
“Surely there is something we could help you with in turn.“ 

Selene knew her grandmother lived for these moments, a delicate game of cat and mouse with her opponent. It was only due to Oilena’s shrewd negotiation tactics that the Zidan system had remained blessedly independent from the First Order despite being one of the richer star systems. 

However, they had been forced to compromise more and more in recent years, orders for the state of the art ship systems and customized weapons the Zi’daya were renowned for getting harder and harder to ignore. While Pryde had been somewhat hard to handle, if utterly predictable, as their responsible sector General, his promotion to Allegiant General of the whole First Order fleet had not made things easier. 

And now the Council of Twelve was on the verge of throwing all this hard work away. And for what? Greed and fear. Selene felt her by now familiar anger on the Council’s latest decision well up again. 

“The Thirteenth house was created to serve the Council, to serve our people, not to further our personal goals. They always come first. Never forget that,“ one of the first lessons her grandmother had taught her. 

Shue, the Zi’daya leader’s title so often misinterpreted as queen or king by outsiders, meant literally “First servant“. Oh, but sometimes serving was harder than others. Especially, if she did not agree with the Council’s decisions at all. 

“We want the automatic target acquisition you are developing,“ Pryde was leaning forward almost eagerly. 

Selene threw a look at Tay, her brother the only other person in the room next to Oilena’s personal aide Damaris, a tall, calm woman in her fifties, and her. A worried frown had appeared on his forehead, they had not counted on the general cutting to the chase so quickly. 

Obviously, he had someone on the inside of their development team. A disconcerting thought. Although they had already reached approved customer stage with the project, so it could not be such a close source. 

The system allowed automatic target acquisition based on sub-line electric impulses thrown out by the basic life support of any known space vessel. Short of a complete power down it was nearly impossible to shake and allowed a more than 99.9 percent hit accuracy. Since she and Tay had been involved deeply in this project, she knew that the Resistance had nothing to counter this. It could be a turning point in the war. Notwithstanding, that Tay had of course programmed an untraceable backdoor access in to avoid it ever being used against themselves. 

Clearly, the First Order was done with pleasantries. Which meant Pryde was more concerned than he let on; he was normally a stickler for formalities. They had fully expected this discussion to go on for several days. 

Tay gave her a pointed look out of golden eyes so similar to her’s and Oilena’s, he silently showed her his open hand and a thumbs up. Selene nodded in agreement. It was obvious, that the Order had lost more than the reported five ships. 

Still probably less than the twenty vessels, that had gone missing on the Zi’daya side in the last four weeks. Only five had been found, drifting aimless in space, no sign of the crew. There had also been no sign of any struggle and no damages on the ships. What happened remained a mystery, especially since there had been only one single distress signal. 

Selene’s heart clenched at the thought of the missing people and their families. Something had happened to her people and she would be damned if she did not find out who or what was responsible. 

“Done.“ Oilena wasted no time in pointless denial, when it was clear the general had inside knowledge. She switched from effortlessly pleasant to coldly efficient in mere seconds.  
“My staff will prepare an offer accordingly. Do you only want to equip your Stardestroyers and Dreadnoughts or do you think of a fleet wide update including TIE-fighters?“ 

To give in easily now would hopefully prevent any more desires for their tech. There were some things they really did not want in the First Order’s hands. No one wanted a repeat of the hyperspace tracker fiasco. 

The thought of equipping his whole fleet with a deadly weapons system elicited something that could nearly be called a real smile on Pryde’s face. “A fleet wide use would be appreciated. We can in turn send you one of the Outer Rim Dreadnoughts...“

Selene sat up in alert. Now came the critical part of their plan. It all hinged on how well Oilena was really able to read Pryde. And if their intel regarding a rift in the First Order was correct. Tay grabbed the arms of his chair nervously next to her. 

“With all respect, Enric,“ Oilena interrupted the general swiftly.  
“We have more than twenty ships missing in four weeks with not a clue what has happened. A bombardment ship will not really help matters. I thought of sending Selene out with our research fleet and half of the Tri-Wasps. They know the Outer Rim here better than anyone else. Although she would need some military support of course.“

Pryde’s eyes turned pensive. “You would need a Stardestroyer as a base.“ 

Oilena smiled “What a splendid idea. I would feel much better knowing that my granddaughter and heir was protected by one of the Order’s strongest ships.“

The Allegiant General was silent for a moment, clearly thinking. Then his cold eyes alighted on something or someone on his side of the connection, confirming Selene’s suspicion, that he was not alone. 

“Fine,“ he practically purred. “You can have General Hux and the Finalizer.“ 

Selene felt a wave of triumph and relief well up inside her. Under normal circumstances, it would have seemed nearly impossible to talk Pryde out of one of his deadliest ships, given the state of conflict with the Resistance. 

Batuu and Ryloth had only been the two most prominent uprisings after the Battle of Crait. After being nearly on the edge of victory, the First Order had lost precious ground again. It seemed their sources had been correct, that Pryde would jump on a chance of getting rid of Snoke’s former pet general, even if it meant risking one of his ships. 

“In the spirit of our close collaboration I would propose a joined command,“ Oilena’s voice was deceptively innocent.  
“A starting point to an even closer relationship in the future, perhaps? There are certainly many other projects of ours that may interest you.“

Selene tensed. That request they had actually not discussed beforehand. Her grandmother obviously wanted to drive the advantage home. 

Pryde appeared almost amused now. “That would be only fitting. I will inform General Hux of the arrangement. You can expect the Finalizer in Ellesmee orbit in three standard days from now.“  
The general nodded his head in parting. “As always a pleasure, Oilena.“ 

“Oh, the pleasure is all mine.“ The Shue’s answering smile appeared nearly genuine as she cut the connection. 

For a moment, the room was silent, Oilena sitting with closed eyes and breathing in slowly. Then she took one last deep breath and leveled her intense gaze on her aide. Switching from Basic to the more melodious Zi’dayan she addressed her.  
“Damaris, if you would be so kind to send a transcript of the conversation to the Council members? I suspect they are eagerly waiting.“ 

“Of course, Shue.“ the tall woman immediately stood up, already making the necessary preparations on her datapad. 

Selene busied herself with filling three glasses of water, until she heard the slide of the automatic door indicating the aide had left the room. After setting one glass in front of her brother and grandmother respectively, she sipped pensively on her own. 

“That went better than expected, all things considered,“ she commented. 

“Having to grovel to the First Order like some backwater weapons smuggler?“ Tay’s voice held only derision.  
“I can’t believe we have come to this. What fourth and sixth house are thinking...they are blinded by their own greed.“ 

“We have made more money in the last years with the First Order, than with all other trade combined. It’s only understandable, that the houses of trade and finance would prefer this to continue.“  
Selene drummed her fingers on the table. “If not for this strange disappearances, however, they would have never been able to swing a vote in favor of First Order support. People are afraid. As if our own military would not be enough to protect them.“ 

And Selene had to admit that this lack of trust hurt. She and her brothers had worked relentlessly to improve their defenses in the last years. Had done everything to make sure, that they never appeared like an easy target again. To make sure, that nobody underestimated them ever again. An unspoken agreement, that had been born on a charred field littered with smoking debris more than fifteen years ago. The day that had ripped their family apart, leaving an aching hole, where once the loving presence of their parents had been. 

“Not to diminish your efforts. But they might even be right, if even for the wrong reasons,“ Oilena ignored both her grandchildren’s outraged looks. 

“Whatever is out there, made more than twenty ships disappear. This is not some Huttese smuggler fleet we are dealing with. Whoever is behind this is truly dangerous. And while we certainly are not defenseless, we just don’t have the kind of fire power the Order has. Thankfully that is. We are after all not in the business of planetary destruction. Using the Order for our own advantage might be the best strategy.“ 

Tay grabbed his water glass tightly, obviously still dissatisfied. 

“Oh, don’t look at me like that, Tayshen. Your pride will not help us here. If I thought it would keep the Zi’daya safe, I would have fucked Pryde ages ago. Unfortunately, I don’t think it would work, those First Order types all have ice water for blood in their veins.“ 

Selene stifled a laugh as her brother spit out the water he had been drinking in shock at Oilena’s words. “Grandmother!“ he admonished.

“Tut, tut, tut, don’t grandmother me,“ the Shue’s gaze was amused. “You are quite old enough for the realities of life. Don’t tell me you have just been reading poetry to that pretty boy you have been smuggling to your rooms the last few months. One of Selene’s lieutenants, isn’t he? The one she picked up from the Hutt planet.“ 

“Oh, that is actually already... kind of over,“ Tay’s high cheekbones turned slightly pink. 

Selene scoffed. “Really? So that is why Fayth is completely miserable. Tay, I told you, hands off, if you don’t mean it. He has been through enough.“ 

“That is not really your business, sister.“ 

Oilena raised an eyebrow. “Don’t get my started on you, young lady. Your work, as important as it is, won’t keep you warm at night. What happened to that nice Ty’shwar boy I set you up with? He was an engineer, too. You always liked the intelligent ones.“

“In her defense, even I found listening to that one as dull as watching paint dry. Perhaps beloved grandmother, you should stay out of Sel’s and my desolate love lives. Didn’t Deacon give you enough great grandchildren, yet?“ Tay tried to deflect, mentioning their oldest brother, who was already happily married with three children and a forth on the way. 

“I am old, meddling is one of my greatest joys,“ Oilena pursed her lips. “I just want you happy and settled before I join your grandfather between the stars.“

Selene sighed “What did we say about talking about your death? You will live to become a hundred. After all what would we do without you?“

“Making dangerous and ill-advised decisions, I fear,“ Oilena smiled.  
“At least, I secured you a joined command. I don’t want you at the mercy of any First Order general. If Pryde wants to use this mission to get rid of General Hux, you and our people are not to get into the crossfire. It has to be clear that it is in his best interest to keep you safe.“ 

“General Starkiller,“ Tay grimaced. “I can’t say I envy you. If I had known that it would be you, who would carry out this mission, I might not even have proposed it at all.“ Concern burned brightly in his eyes, as he looked at his sister. 

“Don’t worry. I can take care of myself. This is after all not my first mission. I can deal with the likes of General Hux,“ Selene sent him a reassuring look.  
“This is a golden opportunity after all. We might never get access to a First Order Stardestroyer this easily again. And you know it had to be me. In sending her heir grandmother is proving to Pryde, that he can trust us.“ 

“I know,“ Tay sighed. “I just don’t like it. I will prepare everything you need, though.“ 

“I don’t have to tell you, that this has to be completely under the radar. The fewer people know, that there even is a second mission, the better. We are after all directly countermining a Council’s decision,“ Oilena’s voice was grave. 

She raised the golden prayer stele on her throat, a cherished present of her late husband, the diamond on its tip flashing, as she kissed it.  
“May the stars guide us all.“ 

The Shue turned on the holo transmitter again. “Now, let us inform General Organa, that our First Order friends have taken the bait.“ 

Outer Rim - Ajan Kloss Resistance Base

“Finally good news. We certainly need them,“ Poe Dameron could literally see how renewed hope transformed General Leia Organa’s face, smoothing over some of the deep lines that had appeared in the last months. The General had never really recovered from the Order’s attack on the Raddus, her worsening condition getting harder and harder to ignore.

“If this plan works, we might be able to destroy most of the First Order fleet in one go and with minimal risks to all of us.“ 

The Resistance inner command, consisting of Leia, Poe, Finn, Rey, Rose and D’Acy, was gathered in the large cave that served as their command center on Ajan Kloss. They had just ended a holo call to the leader of the Zidan star system, the news she and her grandchildren had to share both as surprising, as they were welcome. 

“If this plan works, which means if Tay y Sa’onserei is correct concerning the First Order’s computer systems, if the virus they developed will work as planned, if they are able to plant it, if the Order falls for the pretense that the Resistance is in the Zidan system, if Pryde really sends most of his fleet. There are a few too many if’s in this plan for my liking,“ Poe could not help point out, even if he was unused to being the voice of reason. 

Finn threw him a surprised glance from his place next to him. But Poe had learned his lesson regarding risky plans after D’qar and the Raddus. He knew quite well, that they were lucky to be still alive. 

“They will be able to test, if they really have access to the First Order’s system, a few days before we set the final stage of the plan in motion. I don’t foresee any risks for us, safe for the people who will be sent to that abandoned base on one of the Zidan planets to make it appear in use. Actually, this sounds nearly too good to be true,“ D’Acy deliberated, her narrow face alight with excitement. 

“Which is why I think something is off,“ Poe could not help feel a little resentment here, even if it might be childish. They had fought the First Order for years now, had sacrificed and bled for the cause and now some outsiders turned up with the perfect plan just in time to end the war? 

“Where have they been, when we needed help at Crait? Or after Batuu? And don’t get me started on that half assed apology for equipping the Order with the hyper tracking device. They nearly destroyed us, because of that.“ 

Leia sighed heavily. “I know. Actually I think Oilena felt guilty for it and it factored in her decision to help us now.“ 

The General looked at Poe directly. “I wished the Galaxy was a place, where our allies would step up proudly and fight with us against the First Order. But that is not the reality. Most people are too afraid to openly declare for us. And yes, the Zi’daya are most likely only helping us because Pryde has a knife to their throat now. They know there is no choice any more, it will be accepting First Order rule or trying to stop them. But honestly, Poe, don’t underestimate the risk they are taking. Pryde will take it very personally, if they are caught. Which is why I agree with Oilena’s assessment, that he will bring most of his fleet in retaliation. He will want to make an example of them. And they are going against their own council. This may well cost Oilena her title, if it goes wrong. It is not only jumping in a X-wing, flying out there weapons blazing that takes courage. “

“But isn’t she the queen of the Zidan system?“ Finn asked. 

“Shue is a hereditary title, yes. Although it does not go to the oldest but the most suited heir. However, the Zi’daya are actually one of the oldest democracies in the galaxy. They regularly elect different house leaders, which see to the everyday tasks of governance. One for science, one for trade and so on. The Shue acts mostly as a head of state,“ Leia explained, clearly showcasing her past as a senator and princess of Alderaan. 

“You know her from your time as a senator, then? What do you think, can they really pull this off?“ Poe wanted to know. 

He was still reluctant to trust the Zi’daya completely. Sure, they had delivered some supplies for the Resistance to some neutral meeting places successfully. Nevertheless, this was not a simple supply run avoiding the First Order, it was going directly into the lion’s den, planning sabotage right under a First Order general’s nose.

Leia nodded decisively. “If they say they can plant a virus that shuts down the Order’s systems they can. They developed some of the most advanced weapons and ship systems in the galaxy. And Tayshen y Sa’onserei has been in charge of development for years now. Their reputation for being the best is well earned.“ 

Poe grinned. “I always thought they had a reputation for something else. The most beautiful women. Isn’t there a song? My Zi’daya kitten or something?“ He could not help humming the catchy tune. 

“Well,“ Leia hid a laugh behind a cough.  
“They are a passionate people. They value both science and art equally. Oilena invited Han and me to their Midsummer festival one time. It was... an interesting experience,“ Leia’s smile turned mischievous, the memory certainly a happy one. “Probably one of the only state visits Han ever enjoyed.“

“She is a friend, isn’t she?“ Rey stated, having obviously caught on to some of Leia’s emotions. “I have to agree with Poe then, why haven’t they helped us earlier?“

The general gave a tired sigh, her eyes turning sad. “Because as much as Oilena despises the First Order, she also held no love for the New Republic. I can’t even blame her for it. I am not blind towards the Republic’s faults, especially at the end. Unfortunately, how the Zi’daya were treated was one of them. When the Zidan system became more and more economical successful in the last decades, there were factions in the Core worlds, which felt threatened by what they regarded as Outer Rim upstarts. They sabotaged a shuttle with Oilena’s daughter and her husband on board, killing them both in the blast. A message not to rise above their station. The senate denied them even an investigation, declaring it an accident. Clearly, some wealthy Core Worlders influenced them. In the end the Zi’daya were forced to take action on their own and then the senate even threatened to punish them, although they couldn’t really proof their involvement. It was a mess on every account.“

Finn looked solemn after Leia’s remembrance of the Republic’s shortcomings. Poe knew, that after his experiences with the First Order he was eager for a government system that was not deeply flawed. “But she will still help us now?“ 

“The Resistance is not the Republic. And Oilena would rather die than let the First Order take control of Ellesmee.“ Leia sounded sure of it. 

“But sending her granddaughter on a mission with General Hux? I met Selene on the supply runs they did for us. Good pilot and certainly a looker. But not exactly spy material.“

Poe had of course flirted outrageously with the stunning Zi’dayan, making her laugh loudly at his antics on more than one occasion. Some of her countering remarks had even made him blush.

If his heart was not completely taken now, he might have even been tempted to try more. He smiled fondly at the former stormtrooper next to him, making him shift a little nervously, Finn still not being used to open displays of affection, before he smiled back. 

Poe tried to picture Selene with her fiery attitude and ready smile as Co-commander to General Hux in all of his stiff First Order glory. Seemed like a disaster in the making in his opinion. Oh, to be a fly on that wall...  
He nearly giggled imagining it. Pryde really seemed to hate the ginger menace.

Leia gave the pilot an amused look. “You saw her beauty, but not the steel underneath. I have known Selene since she was a little girl. Believe me, she is Oilena’s heir in every aspect of the word. And her I would consider one of the most dangerous women in the galaxy. As I mentioned the Zi’daya took justice in their own hands. But rumor has it that it was not Oilena, who had her hand in this, but rather her grandchildren, young as they were back then.“

Rose gasped. “Oh, I know that story. It was all over the holo net at that time. Everyone connected to their parents death was found mysteriously dead afterwards, a five pointed star burned onto their chest. It took them nearly ten years, but in the end, they got their revenge. Didn’t they even blow up a spice cartel leader’s villa in Corellia? It was reported as a technical glitch, though. “ 

The general nodded. “Though apart from the Zidan symbol nothing ever led back to them. Don’t worry, Selene is quite able to handle General Hux. What worries me more though is what is happening in the Outer Rim. Something took those ships. Something dark.“

Rey nodded gravely. “I feel it, too. Something so dark it devours every light around it.“ The young Jedi visibly shivered. 

Poe felt a shiver of unease himself. “Kylo Ren?“ 

“No.“ Rey exchanged a look with Leia, as always when Kylo Ren was mentioned. “This feels different. Darker even than him ...and older.“

“Wonderful. A new threat is exactly what we need,“ Poe sighed.  
“With our limited resources, there is not much we can do about it at the moment, though. We have to hope the Finalizer and the Zi’daya take care of it then. But I feel kind of bad to leave Selene with no real backup other than General Huggs and his First Order flunkies.“

Leia let her gaze wander over everyone present, her eyes determined. “We know what to do then. Crait has ignited a spark, now we have to fan the flames. We need more ships and personnel as soon as possible. When the Zi’daya succeed, we absolutely need to be ready. D’Acy, please prepare a list of possible Resistance supporters to contact. We have to make it clear, that either they support us now or they will have to live under First Order rule. The time for indecision has passed.“  
The general grinned. “I hope you are all prepared to give some pretty recruiting speech.“ 

Coruscant sector - First Order flagship Steadfast 

“You can have General Hux and the Finalizer,“ General Armitage Hux grabbed the arms of his chair in anger at Allegiant General Pryde’s words, the leather of his gloves groaning in protest. 

Bartered away to Outer Rim upstarts like some third rate bounty hunter. The smug look on Pryde’s face widened to a grin, as he made another concession to the Zi’daya leader at the other side of the holo call.  
Hux could see General Griss elbowing Quinn further down the table, both trying to contain their laughter at the fact, that he was to share command with the Zi’daya heir.

The whole First Order High Command was in personal attendance today, Pryde having called all of them together in the last days. It probably meant he planned a widespread offensive, although Hux had not received any information on this. Not that it meant much. He was lucky to even be in this meeting, Pryde’s aides conveniently forgetting to invite him most of the times now. 

Although it might have spared him the public humiliation if he had received his orders by missile. On all accounts, he should be thankful, that Kylo Ren wasn’t there to witness it, missing this meeting like most since he became Supreme Leader. Off again with his knights on a merry chase after the Jedi girl, no doubt.

Hux barely held onto his temper, until Pryde had terminated the call. Breaking decorum now, would only give Pryde more opportunity to gloat. 

“I was not aware it is First Order policy now, to share command with civilians,“ he commented icily, not even trying to hide his disdain. If he didn’t know better, he would have accused Pryde of having a soft spot for the Zi’daya, letting them get away with their rebellious tendencies again and again. 

Pryde focused his pale blue eyes on him, his face showing clear contempt for the younger man. Like so many of the older First Order command, he had been a close acquaintance of Brendol Hux. He had never made a secret out of the fact that he thought little of his son, believing him to be incompetent and conniving. 

For a moment Hux felt transported back in time by this gaze, the first time he had been subject to it years ago.  
A dimly lit room, glasses clinking to the sound of mingling voices. Himself so much younger than today, nervous as always that days. A stumble, the sound of glass breaking. “Can you do nothing right, boy?“ Brendol Hux’ booming voice as his meaty hand grabbed his son’s neck forcing him to his knees. “Lick it off.“ 

Hux forced himself back into the present with more difficulty than he liked to admit. He had sworn to himself never to let anyone treat him like that again, the day he got rid of his father. He would not let the likes of Pryde and Ren do so now. 

“Times like these call for unconventional measures. With the Zi’daya as closer allies, we will have access to the most advanced weapons in the galaxy. This could be the turning point in the war. If that means, that we let their little princess play ship commander for a time, General Hux, then so be it.“ 

The Order should investigate this, because it was their duty to uphold the law in the galaxy, not to garner favor. In his opinion, that anyone dared attack their ships, even in Outer Rim territory, only served as proof that a stricter hand was needed. Stars, what had Pryde even done in his time out there? Apart from letting Oilena noe Sa’onserei dance circles around him that was.  
Although he did agree with him, that under the given circumstances, it was an opportunity to gain more influence on the Zi’daya.

“Perhaps, if the Zi’daya industry is so invaluable for our efforts, it would have been prudent to bring them into the fold much earlier, Allegiant General,“ And with more force, if necessary, Hux added in thought. 

Pryde did not even blink at the thinly veiled criticism. “It might be lost on you, but brute force is not always the most gainful path. I spent years cultivating an amiable relationship with the Zi’daya. And that will pay off now. Dead scientists don’t develop weapons nor do destroyed planets yield goods and taxes. It is time for the Order to return to its imperial roots and not waste time and resources on ill-conceived projects of hybris.“

Hux felt a heavy weight settle in his stomach at the dig on Starkiller base. What had been supposed to become his greatest victory, securing the Order’s dominance in the galaxy, had turned into his greatest failure. Well, apart from failing to get rid of Ren in time, of course.

Pryde was not finished though. “It is of uttermost importance that this mission is successful. And with that I mean not only eliminating, whatever threat is lurking in the Outer Rim, but also keeping Oilena’s heir happy while doing it. You are able to manage that much, aren’t you?“

The younger General balled a hand into a fist under the table in anger, but kept his voice level. “Eliminating a threat would be much easier with a functioning ship. As you know, the Finalizer has been in a repair dock in the Jiaan system for months now.“

The ship had been severely damaged at the battle of Batuu, nearly leading to her being decommissioned in the aftermath. Captain Peavey had been the commanding officer during the battle, Hux already relegated to the Steadfast by Pryde and forced to watch helplessly from afar, as Peavey made mistake after mistake. 

He had tried to hasten the repairs, but to no avail. It seemed as if circumstances had conspired against him. First, there had been no repair crew available, and then necessary parts went miraculously missing. He suspected Pryde to have a hand in it or perhaps even Ren himself. 

He knew it had turned him into the laughing stock of the fleet. The General without a ship.

“There should be only some minor damages left. I am sure you can manage the rest on your own,“ Pryde waved his hand, as if this was all a great inconvenience for him.

Hux wouldn’t call half of the B hangar’s outer hull missing a minor damage, but he would be damned before he asked for more time.

“Since the Finalizer has been out of commission this long, there have been some transfers. I would need...“

“It has always been my belief that skilled personnel goes where good leadership is shown. It is not my problem that you failed to keep your crew...“ Pryde’s voice turned gleeful. “...satisfied.“ 

Griss’ and Quinn’s whispering turned to outright laughter at the comment, the rest of the generals joining in their mirth. Even Bellada Parnadee, who Hux would have considered a close ally a few months ago, chuckled in amusement. He felt his cheeks grow warm, cursing his fair complexion. He could guess what Pryde was alluding to.

“You can keep Captain Peavey and his lieutenants as support, though,“ Pryde allowed generously. To report on my every move you mean, Hux thought sullenly. Peavey had always been Pryde’s man. 

“Now, I would expect you have much to prepare,“ The Allegiant General gave him an expectant look, clearly wanting him gone from the command center. 

Hux stood up with as much pride as he could salvage his face carefully blank. “Allegiant General, Generals,“ he saluted stiffly, before leaving the room.

He managed to keep a calm facade until he had reached the next corridor, then he could’t help the angry scowl appearing on his face.  
Two stormtroopers, who had been coming in his direction, promptly turned around again, nearly fleeing. He wondered, why they even bothered, it was not as if he had any real power left.

This was a disaster. An obvious ploy to get rid of him for good. 

Perhaps Pryde had even planned it all with the Zi’daya beforehand and there were no missing ships. He could feel his breath getting shallower, as paranoia started to set in. The stiff collar of his uniform jacket seemed to suffocate him. 

For a moment, Hux contemplated hitting a wall in desperation. He could suddenly understand Ren’s fondness for it.

Then his mind, ever scheming, started to analyze the situation. Even if this was a ploy to get rid of him, that did not mean he could not use the situation to his advantage. He had his ship and his crew back, which was a first step. Now, he had to make sure, that he was one-step ahead of Pryde. The Allegiant General would not be the first person nor the last to underestimate him, thinking him defeated. 

His steps led him to the small, out of the way office, which Pryde had provided for him and his men. Another insult of course, since even some of the lieutenants on the Steadfast had more space, but he had come to appreciate the privacy. The general opened the door with a little more force than necessary, making one of the occupants jump up in surprise while the other merely raised an eyebrow. Both man saluted sharply. 

“General, sir, you are already back!“ their time on the Steadfast had unfortunately not changed Lieutenant Mitaka’s tendency to appear like a nervous, overexcited puppy, big brown eyes huge in his boyish face. 

Might have something to do with the constant assassination attempts, though. That he had fallen out of favor was no secret and the sharks had begun to circle, scenting blood in the water. The incompetence of the attempts hinted on some of Pryde’s younger officers, probably hoping for an advancement.  
Only two attempts had stood out, a scorpion in his weekly laundry delivery and a deadly spider coming out of his quarter’s maintenance shaft. Here he suspected Pryde himself to be behind it. The old git had surely thought himself the height of subtlety. 

While Hux had never shied away from underhanded actions to advance his career, he had rarely depended on something as crass as murder. He preferred to manipulate the circumstances in order to provide people with a rope to hang themselves with. It did pay off to at least maintain an illusion of clean hands in the end.

The only notable exception being the murder of Brendol Hux. And that had been a highly personal decision and not a career move. 

If he were a better man he would have possibly transferred Mitaka to a different post long ago to keep him out of the crossfire, the young lieutenant the closest to a real innocent he had ever met onboard a First Order ship. But unfortunately for Mitaka he was no good person and with so few allies left, he could not do without one of his most loyal men. Besides, he was a damn capable aide.

The other man in the room could not have been more different from the gentle lieutenant. With elegant but lean features and cool, blue-grey eyes so surprising in a deeply tanned face, Captain Tritt Opan exuded an air of calm confidence bordering on arrogance. Opan had been his Informations officer for years now, his loyalty as steady as Mitaka’s. He had been his father’s aide before his death. Some shared experiences tended to forge bonds that were hard to break. 

“We have orders from High Command. The Finalizer is to investigate a string of disappearances in the Outer Rim. We are scheduled to arrive in the Zidan system in three standard days from now,“ Hux shortly informed the two of them.  
“Opan, I want you to leave immediately for the Jiaan system. Report on ship status and crew at the end of day. Mitaka and I will follow shortly, after we wrapped everything up here.“ 

“It will be good to be one the Finalizer again, sir,“ Mitaka was practically bouncing in excitement. “Shall I also pack Millicent?“  
Since he looked after the cat quite often, the young lieutenant had developed a bond with the temperamental feline. He was one of the only people she tolerated apart from Hux himself. 

“Yes, pack everything, Lieutenant. I don’t foresee us returning to the Steadfast any time soon.“ To do so would mean failure and Hux was quite aware that failure at this point most likely meant death. 

“We should also,...“ He realized suddenly that one of his men was missing.  
“Where is Major Thalis?“ 

Mitaka exchanged a quick, nervous look with Opan.  
“Transfer request approved by Allegiant General Pryde this morning, sir,“ the captain was uncharacteristically reluctant to continue. “He is on the Executer now.“ 

Hux stared at them in surprise, renewed anger coursing through him. “The Executer? Has Lieutenant Kandia now staffed her whole Dreadnought with my men?“

“Oh, she is captain now, sir,“ Mitaka piped up helpfully. 

Hux glared at him, making the younger man flinch. “I know, I promoted her after all.“ 

A glorious stupidity in hindsight, which had now cost him a large part of his bridge officers. From Lieutenant of Communications on the Finalizer to Dreadnought captain in one step: Pryde’s new favorite. This was probably the first time dumping one’s superior paid off better than sleeping with him in the first place. 

You didn’t think she really liked you, didn’t you boy? a voice sounding disturbingly like Brendol Hux whispered in his mind. Well, he surely had not expected any sentimentalities, would probably even have applauded her opportunism, if it had not been to his own disadvantage, but he would have hoped for at least a minimum of respect between them. If Hux was honest to himself, it was mostly his pride that felt bruised. 

He had seen the elegant blonde a few times onboard the Steadfast since she had become Commander of the Executer, she had managed to look down her nose at him in disdain, quite the feat considering he was a lot taller than her. Her officers had been trailing behind her like eager pubs, whispering after he had passed. He did not want to imagine what she had told them. 

“Fine,“ there was no use dwelling in the past. “What are the latest crew numbers, then?“

Mitaka and Opan seemed relieved for the change in topic. “Bridge is one third down. Stormtrooper battalions at 40.000, General Quinn and General Griss had some transfers approved, as well.“ 

“This won’t be relevant, I don’t expect extensive need for ground forces on this mission,“ though the thought of his men transferred to that incompetent sadist Quinn or sniveling Griss irked him to no end. Later, he told himself, after he had been able to outmaneuver Pryde and his lackeys; he would get his men back. He had not spend years training them just to leave them to the likes of Quinn and Griss now.

“We will have to rely on emergency shift schedule on the bridge for the time being. Mitaka prepare a new shift schedule accordingly.“

Hux started to pace the small room, hands clasped behind his back, as he gave more orders in preparation of their departure. “And find out everything you can about the Zidan system and especially Selene noe Sa’onserei.“ 

Mitaka nodded, typing on his datapad avidly.  
“She will obviously be my Co-Commander on this mission,“ Hux let the disdain for the arrangement creep into his voice. 

That even surprised unflappable Opan. “Military?“

“Barely. A scientist it seems and the Zi’daya heir. Pryde is of the opinion, which working together on this mission will secure the Zi’daya’s support in the future. Their weapon’s systems could be invaluable in the war.“

Opan’s blue eyes turned thoughtful. “But you already have your own plan, sir?“ 

“Well, it will be us with the Zi’daya out there in the Outer Rim. After we got rid of whoever is causing problems,“ and really it was probably nothing more than some suicidal space pirates “it will be me and the Finalizer, they are grateful towards. Who is to say we can’t strike our own deal with them?“

Direct access to superior weapons could swing High Command in his favor again. Oh, how sweet a victory that would be against Pryde, who thought he held some kind of favor with the Zi’daya. It would also convince Kylo Ren that Hux was invaluable to the cause and not to be discarded. That would give him time to find a way to finally get rid of their Supreme Leader. 

“We will just have to convince my dear Co-Commander that the future of the Zidan system lies with the First Order.“ 

And that shouldn’t be too hard. Coming from some backwater Outer Rim planet, she would probably be in awe at the might of the First Order. As much as he hated it, he would even try to be accommodating. 

It was time to let the dice roll in Armitage Hux’ favor again. And no little Outer Rim princess would change that. 

Outer Rim - Zidan System Capital Ellesmee

Selene gave the metal casing on the translation droid she was working on one final twist before setting it down.  
“Come on...,“ she breathed, giving it a little nudge. Suddenly all lights went on, the droid’s metal head coming up with a whizzing sound.  
“Yes!“ Selene pumped a fist in the air happily. 

This particular droid had been driving her crazy all afternoon. There seemed to be a problem with the latest service update. Probably an incompatibility with the underlying power network.

Something whirred ominously inside and with a loud crack, smoke began to rise from the droid, the lights that looked like eyes on the metal head blinking sadly.  
“Oh, by Rhea’s bloody starship...“ she cursed, quickly hitting the hidden off-power button to stop the smoke. 

“You overclocked the tri-power battery, again. Or do you want to burn the beehive down?“ Her brother sounded smug, as he leaned against her office door. He looked relaxed in a dark blue shirt, a leather backpack slung over his shoulder and his fair hair secured in a bun at the back of his head. 

“Perhaps your team could program an update, that works on every droid, for once,“ Selene murmured slightly irritated. She knew she had been distracted all day, but she still hated it, when he was this condescending. The Finalizer was scheduled to arrive in Ellesmee’s orbit the day after tomorrow and although she would never admit it, she felt a little bit of pre-mission nerves. 

“Or perhaps you could finally throw away that thing. It is ancient,“ Tay strolled into the room, taking in the obvious chaos. The space was quite small but cozy, situated directly next to her sleeping quarters. Normally she would only use it for paperwork, but in the last months she had brought more and more of her work from the lab here, often working until late into the night.

Now every available surface was cluttered with notes, metal parts and swathes of meth fabric.  
Tay raised an eyebrow. “How do you even find anything in here? Let’s go outside.“

Selene stood up and followed him onto the spacious balcony that overlooked Ellesmee city. The Zi’daya palace was actually more or less a giant tree house, being built on one gigantic jacinda tree, its myriad goldenred-leafed branches shielding the entire structure. The whole building was a breathtaking symbiosis of nature and elegant constructions. From below it looked a little like a beehive, giving it the name everyone used. 

“Here,“ Tay passed her a necklace with a golden prayer stele, the traditional diamond at its tip catching the light. “You will need this for the mission.“

His sister took it with a dubious look. “Is this your way of telling me, that only praying will help me on this mission?“ 

On the pale green mech shirt she was wearing, a little deer in a darker green color was peeking out of the printed trees cautiously.

Tay grinned “Hardly. Are those Samara’s new mech fabrics? Nice,“ He took the stele back from her.

“Yes, she has a whole collection now. I am testing a few for her. The new ones react to emotions.“ 

The deer was cautiously entering a clearing now, followed by a small, fluffy rabbit.

Tay gave the stele a short twist and it opened up in the middle, revealing a small data port.  
“Now, you just enter this into a First Order central data dispatcher and voila five minutes later we have remote access. Can you imagine they still you use the Kuat standard system? Talking about cost cutting at the wrong places,“ her brother snorted derisively. 

“After we have access to the Finalizer’s systems, we can use the service update initiator, which all Stardestroyers have integrated, to spread the virus to the whole fleet. Do not worry, your little chip has an automatic firewall bypass installed. You just have to wait until the little light in the diamond goes on and off again, after you plugged it in. Easy.“

“And where would I find this convenient First Order data dispatcher?“ Selene asked warily. Her brother had a tendency to downplay things like that. 

“Oh, commander’s access on the bridge...it’s practically a gateway to the whole Order systems so they don’t have a lot of access points. Oh, and before you ask, not to life support systems. They have a different access due to security reasons. Would have made things even easier, but we still have to shoot them out of the sky ourselves. Although without weapons and navigation they will be like sitting porgs.“

Selene could not help feeling a little bit of relief at that. It might not actually be better to fire at someone who could not fire back, but just turning off life support would have felt more gruesome, she thought. 

Then, what her brother had just said, registered. “Wait, what do you mean on the bridge? And how do you suppose I get five minutes unobserved on the bridge?“ 

“Just wait until it’s empty, then.“ 

“This is a Stardestroyer, not a parked shuttle. The bridge is never empty, why do you think people work in shifts there? And Hux won’t just let me hang out at the commander’s console all alone, if he isn’t completely daft.“ 

“Well, according to the blue prints there is another access point in the commander’s private quarters. You will just have to follow grandmother’s advice on seducing First Order officers then.“ Tay’s golden eyes twinkled mischievously.

“That’s a joke, I hope,“ his sister’s voice was unamused, the little rabbit hanging over a tree stump retching now. 

Tay laughed at the look on her face and took a little package out of his backpack. Passing it to her, he explained: “I hope it will not come to that. A little breaking and entering might be necessary, if no other opportunity arises, though. This contains everything you need for copying standard biometric access.“

Selene nodded, only slightly relieved. Breaking into General Hux’ private quarters was not something she looked forward to. She pulled the necklace with the stele over her head, letting it fall to her collarbone.

“I already sent all the information on the Finalizer and its crew, intelligence could gather, to you and the others. Not exactly inspiring confidence. They have been involved in all those nice genocidal Order missions in the last years. The Otomok system, Starkiller, Batuu, you name it. Stars, I really hate that First Order brainwashing,“ Tay added with distaste on his face, before letting his gaze wander to the sky above the city. 

“On another note, how is our little side project going? I don’t really want to rely solely on the Resistance, when it comes to destroying the First Order ships.“

“Still the same problem with the power fluctuations. The cyber crystal is just too unstable as a power source. I wished, I knew how they did it,“ Selene rubbed her temple in frustration. 

Their work on a planetary defense system had been ongoing for nearly three years now, but they still were not close to a permanent solution. Installed in an older base on Ellesmee’s smaller moon, it was a private project of Tay and her, that at this point not even their grandmother was aware of.

“Well, you will have the source close by soon, won’t you?“ Her brother said. 

“This is nothing like Starkiller base. It is a defensive system, that...“

“That uses a massive power source to shoot things out of the sky. Ships, planets... what’s the difference?“ 

Selene shook her head. “And you propose I just casually ask for the blueprints of Starkiller base over dinner?“ 

Tay gave her a look. “Now, he is a guy and you are... well you.“ 

“Meaning?“

“Don’t play coy now, sister. You know the effect you can have on men, if you want to. Just be a little bit charming. He probably sees it as his greatest accomplishment. Should not be too hard to get him to talk about it.“ 

From an engineer’s perspective, she was even able to acknowledge the genius it had taken to create that weapon. But to see Starkiller base, that had brought death and destruction to billions as an actual accomplishment? Selene shuddered. What kind of person could be responsible for something like this, all in the name of some misguided aim to subjugate the whole galaxy? She had held no love for the republic, after what happened with her parents, but she could still feel the horror at the sight of that red light crossing the sky. Destroying so many lives needlessly. And now she would soon come face to face with the man behind all the destruction. Working with him even. 

Still, Tay was right. She would need to put her personal feelings aside, if it meant gathering valuable information. She nodded at her brother. “I will try. Although I can’t promise you anything.“

Tay gave her an uncharacteristically solemn look. “One last thing. I know you, sister. There will come a moment, where you will be tempted to do, what you think is right and damn the consequences. Don’t.“ 

Selene gave him an incredulous look, the little rabbit on her shirt starting to jump up and down angrily. “You make it sound, as if I’m completely reckless.“ 

Tay shook his head and raised one finger after the other, counting down her last missions. “Your university roommate that turned out to be an assassin payed by the Corellian spice traders.“  
“Hey, she is now my personal aide and friend.“

Tay continued, as if she hadn’t interrupted him. “The Donderian dolphin flock, that now resides in Ellesmee bay, after you were sent to just renegotiate a trade agreement.“  
“They are the last of their kind and they wanted to kill them.“

A third finger “The former pleasure slave you hid from the Hutts, after he killed his master, sparking a diplomatic crisis.“  
“He saved my life, you know.“  
“That would not have been necessary, if you hadn’t tried to free those slaves.“ 

Tay added another finger. “The saber cat incident.“  
“What? I was fifteen years old at the time. You always bring that one up...“ The rabbit was now going crazy, its little bunny ears flopping up and down as it continued to rant. 

“Probably, because that monster you hid to nurse it back to health nearly killed me. I still have the scar.“ Her brother pulled up his dark blue shirt to show an older, white scar on his stomach.  
“That scar is perhaps two inches long, not life threatening. And you always use that story to pick up hot guys,“ Selene raised an eyebrow.  
“However, Mina was perfectly tame. I told you not to run away, it awakened her hunting instincts.“ 

“My point is, sister, you always find something or someone in danger to bring back home with you. You do have a little bit of a helper syndrome. I don’t want to wake up to find a whole Stardestroyer hidden in the east hangar, because you just had to help them and really, after you get to know them, they are actually kind of nice,“ Tay sounded a little exasperated now.

“Not even one little stormtrooper?“ Selene gave her brother a playful shove. “Only kidding. I promise I will behave. I know this is an important mission.“

She stepped closer to the wooden balcony overlooking the city. The sun was setting over Ellesmee, bright blue Tiana and paler Aresh already rising in the east. It was one of the first warm evenings in the year, winter finally over. The first signs of spring had enticed many people to mingle outside. Even up here in the Beehive, they could hear the sounds of the bustling city, music and laughing voices drifting up from thousands of courtyards, interspaced between the buildings and tall jacinda trees Ellesmee was famous for.

“I always loved this time of the year, Ellesmee waking up after winter. It feels like a new beginning,“ Selene watched wistfully, as the first lights blinked on in the city below. Soon the city would glitter in a thousand colors. 

She felt a sudden unease at how fragile it looked from up here. The thought entered her mind, that they were really dancing on a tightrope now. How easily everything she loved could be destroyed. 

She grabbed the balcony rail with her hands. No, she would never allow anything to happen to her people. “You know, I would do everything to protect them, don’t you?“ The young woman looked at her brother with a beseeching look. “It will be enough. Won’t it? This plan will work.“ 

“It is my plan. Of course, it will work it is somewhat brilliant. Using the Order to get rid of a threat and then double-cross them to ultimately destroy them? After we pull this off, it will become a legend in interplanetary war strategy,“ her brother stepped next to her, putting his arm around her shoulders in support. 

“At least, your modesty is still undiminished,“ Selene scoffed at his antics, but still lay her head on his shoulder gratefully. On her shirt, the rabbit and the deer were leaning against each other in harmony as well. 

“Promise me to be careful, though. Whatever is out there is dangerous. And your backup is not much better,“ Tay enveloped her in a tight embrace. She hugged him back just as tight, breathing in his familiar scent of pine needles and burned circuits. 

“I always am,“ she assured him. “And I have my crew and Khendrik with me. What can go wrong?“

Letting her go after long moments her brother flicked the stele at her throat, making the diamond reflect the light again.  
“May the stars guide you back to us.“

Characters (as of Chapter 12)  
The First Order   
Armitage Hux - General of the First Order, Commander of the Finalizer, member of High Command   
Dopheld Mitaka - Lieutenant, his aide  
Tritt Opan - Captain, Informations officer onboard the Finalizer  
Edison Peavey - Captain, second in command onboard the Finalizer  
Masir Trach - Captain, Wing leader of the Finalizer   
Rek Javan - Major, his second in command  
Lanzora Goran - Lieutenant of Navigations onboard the Finalizer   
Lesley Tosla – Lieutenant of Communications onboard the Finalizer   
Cid Stormwater - Pilot onboard the Finalizer  
Baska, Tark, Higgs, Merras - officers on the Finalizer  
AN-3478 - called „Tank“ stormtrooper sergeant on the Finalizer   
ZN-7785 - called „Pip“ young stormtrooper on the Finalizer  
FN-3377 - called „Meg“ stormtrooper on the Finalizer   
ZN-4080 - called „Clics“ stormtrooper on the Finalizer  
KN-9373 - called „Happy“ stormtrooper on the Finalizer  
TN-7750 – called “Lyra” stormtrooper on the Finalizer   
Dev Fallon – Captain, in charge of the stormtroopers on the Finalizer  
Janine Cadwick – Major, Chief of Maintenance and Repairs on the Finalizer   
Kylo Ren - Supreme Leader of the First Order  
Enric Pryde - Allegiant General, Commander of the Steadfast, military leader of the First Order Fleet, member of High Command   
Bellava Parnadee - General of the First Order, member of High Command  
Domaric Quinn- General of the First Order, Commander of the Interceptor, member of High Command  
Frantis Griss - General of the First Order, Commander of the Valiant, member of High Command  
Actos Tosla – Admiral of the First Order, member of High Command  
Rae Sloane – Grand Admiral of the First Order, member of High Command  
Tishra Kandia - Captain, Commander of the „Executer“ dreadnought, former Lieutenant of Communications on the Finalizer

The Zi’daya   
Oilena noe Sa’onserei - Shue (Lady) of the Zi’daya, Leader of the thirteenth house   
Damaris - her aide   
Selene noe Sa’onserei - youngest granddaughter of Oilena, the „Bright Star of Ellesmee“, heir to the seat of the thirteenth house, Commander of the Zidan Research fleet   
Elodia Brentiss - her aide, originally from Corellia  
Khendrik y Shi’seko - Captain of the Morning Guard, Selene’s sworn protector   
Briseis noe Shi’seko - his sister, Wing leader of the Zidan Research fleet, childhood friend of Selene  
Shima y Khi’sheko - Captain, second in Command of the Zidan Research fleet, childhood friend of Selene and Briseis  
Samara noe Ta’sherie - his wife   
Fayth Hikeda - Lieutenant of Communications in the Zidan Research fleet, originally a slave on Mataou  
Deacon y Sa’onserei - eldest grandson of Oilena, Governor of Terenia  
Melody Quell - Deacon’s wife, originally from Hosnian Prime   
Taran, Kieran, Alona - their children (7, 5, 3 years of age)  
Senator Tolney Quell and his wife Evanna - Melody’s parents from Hosnian Prime, moved to the Zidan system after its destruction   
Tayshen y Sa’onserei - middle grandson of Oilena, in charge of Zi’daya Research and Development   
Peeta y Ti’shava, Kara noe Be’amara – Pilots on the Evenfall   
Rine – Technician on the Evenfall   
Darrow y Pa’lenna – Commander of Venya mining station   
Elaine noe Sa’onserei – Selene’s, Deacon’s and Tay’s mother, Oilena’s daughter, deceased 

The resistance   
Leia Organa - General, Princess of Alderaan, military leader of the Resistance  
Poe Dameron - Commander, Wing Leader of the Resistance  
Finn - Commander of the Resistance, former FN-2187  
Rey - of Jakku, young Jedi  
Rose Tico – Lieutenant Commander of the Resistance 

Others  
Trilla Nemase Orlia – Hutt, family head of the Nemase family, member of the Huttese ruling council   
Mekat – her aide


	2. First Impressions

Mercy is for the weak.  
Brendol Hux – First Order General 

Mid Rim Jiaan System - Finalizer repair dock 

“Should call it quits and put this piece of junk, where it belongs,“ a sneering voice cut through the Finalizer’s B hangar bay.  
  
Captain Masir Trach tensed up in annoyance under the belly of the TIE-fighter, he was currently trying to repair. Probably Quinn’s men again. It seemed they had found a new sport in harassing the Finalizer crew on this kriffing planet at the edge of the galaxy.  
  
He quickly shoved against the vessel’s hull to roll out on his repair shed, grimacing as the movement loosened some sand on the top, that rained down on him.  
  
Stars, he hated sand. It had been impossible to keep out of the ship, however hard they tried. It got in places, where it most definitely did not belong and even a sonic shower just did not seem able to get rid of everything, no matter how long he stayed inside. Oh, what he would do for a real shower. Well, no such luck as long as they were stranded on this desolate piece of desert rock. Even the showers in the officers’ quarters had been turned off due to water shortage weeks ago.  
  
As expected, he saw some young officers strolling in through the hole in the outer hull, next to the blast doors. General Quinn’s ship, the Interceptor, had been parked at Jiaan for a few days now, needing a few repairs after a fight with the Resistance. Those repairs had been hastened along, maintenance workers swarming the Stardestroyer like little ants. While he had been trying for over a month to even get half of the missing parts for his TIE-fighters. As if they needed any more proof, that someone really wanted them out of the way.  
  
Masir straightened to his full height, the hydrospanner he had used on the TIE a comforting weight in his hand. He threw a quick glance to the only two other men in the hangar, Javan and Stormwater had stopped working on their TIEs as well, drifting inconspicuously closer to him in support.  
  
Three to seven, normally those odds would not have worried him, as he knew his second in command and stocky Stormwater could hold their own in a fight, especially against some arrogant whelps like those. However, they were all three in simple maintenance overalls, while Quinn’s men wore the full officer’s uniform, service blaster on the hip. This could turn ugly.  
  
“Something we can help you with, gentlemen?“ he asked with a winning smile. No use letting this escalate quicker than necessary.  
  
A sneering blonde, who was obviously the leader of this little band of troublemakers, gave the hangar a sweeping look full of disdain, before looking at Masir.  
  
“Just having a last look at a relic before it’s decommissioned.“  
  
“Is that the way to address a superior officer, Lieutenant?“ Javan’s voice was cutting, as he stepped up directly next to his commander.  
  
The younger officer only smirked slightly, not in the least chastised. He obviously felt they had the upper hand and wanted to proof something to his comrades.  
“Well, a lot of people have rank nowadays, that should have better been spaced with the trash ages ago.“  
The other men chuckled at that, egging him on.  
“Is that ginger bastard you call a general back or still hiding somewhere like the sniveling coward he is?“  
  
Masir inwardly sighed, so much for keeping this civil.  
“You just had to go there, didn’t you?“ He mused almost conversationally, giving Javan an imperceptive nod.  
  
“The Finalizer, do you know what they call...“  
The blonde never managed to finish his last sentence, as Masir had moved with surprising speed, a well-placed kick to his kneecap making him crash to the floor with a pained scream. For a moment, his friends seemed frozen in surprise, but unfortunately, they recovered quickly, descending on Masir and his men in force.  
  
Masir barely avoided a fist to his face, only to be sent stumbling by a painful hit to his stomach. Ignoring the hurt, he sent his attacker nearly flying with a sweeping hit with the hydrospanner. Javan and Stormwater had joined the scuffle as well, both barely holding off two of Quinn’s men.  
  
The captain had just raised the hydrospanner again, intend on helping Javan against his much bigger assailant, when he felt a shiver of danger down his spine. Turning around he came face to face with a blaster pointing directly at him. It seemed that blonde jerk had already recovered, looking murderous now. Masir froze, the arm with the hydrospanner suspended in midair.  
  
“Not so brave now, aren’t we?“ The blonde crowed, as one of his friends used the distraction to send Stormwater to the floor. Masir contemplated, if he was quick enough to knock him down, before he was able to fire that blaster, but before he could move, marching steps interrupted the scene.  
  
Lowering his arm, he saw a whole squad of stormtroopers crossing the hangar, white armor flashing in the artificial light. Halting directly in front of him, the leading trooper, taller than even Masir, who wasn’t a small man, by nearly a head and with broad shoulders to match, saluted crisply.  
  
“Anything the matter, Captain Trach?“  
The voice modulator made it nearly impossible to hear any emotion in the question. Masir saw that the blonde had quickly put away his blaster, his friends gathering behind him in retreat, now that they were outnumbered. Javan helped Stormwater up on his feet.  
  
“No, our friends just wanted to leave, thank you, Sergeant,“ the captain watched as Quinn’s men did exactly that, not before throwing some dark glances in their direction, that promised retribution.  
  
He turned towards the stormtrooper next to him with a grin, dropping protocol.  
“Impeccable timing, Tank. I surely thought we were done for.“  
  
The huge man took off his helm with a sigh, revealing dark brown skin and even features that were now showing exasperation.  
“Perhaps, you should not start fights you can’t win, Trach. Can’t save your ass every time.“  
“Not my fault, they were spoiling for a fight. I don’t know what is going on with those assholes, they have been on a rampage since the Interceptor arrived here.“  
  
“Probably weeding out the competition beforehand,“ Tank’s dark eyes had turned worried. “Rumor has it that the Finalizer crew is to be disbanded and separated between Griss and Quinn. Quinn has lost more than a third of his troopers in the last fight with the Resistance.“  
Masir made a disgusted sound. “How did he manage that? I saw the Interceptor, the damage is not that bad.“  
  
“A breach of the lower decks outer hull. Quinn obviously did not quarantine the damage, since it would have meant not being able to pursue the Resistance through hyperspace quick enough.“  
And the living quarters of the Stormtroopers were on those decks, condemning them to a gruesome death at the next jump. Quinn had always been a sadistic idiot in Masir’s opinion, but this showed a disregard for his own troops that was staggering.  
  
“Kriff,“ he cursed. “I hoped the General would be back before it comes to that.“  
Hux was a demanding, cold-hearted bastard most of the time, but he did not waste his troopers needlessly. Oh, sure he would probably cite efficiency as the reason, but Masir had been on the Finalizer long enough to know, that the general actually took care of his troops. And he was fair, if strict, placing more importance on people’s skills than on their connections.  
  
Masir knew only too well, he would not have become wing leader of the entire Finalizer TIE squads under any other First Order commander. Wouldn’t have mattered, that he was the best, the fact that he hailed from rebel friendly Galatea and had entered the Order quite late in life, with eighteen after a few run-ins with the law better not mentioned, would have normally prevented him from raising in the ranks. Therefore, he was quite thankful towards the general, even if he had a habit of sending him to the sanitation department regularly as a disciplinary measure.  
  
Unfortunately, Masir had never been able to completely keep his big mouth shut and if there was one thing Hux hated more than disorder it was insubordination. Although it did lead to some interesting encounters, he thought, having met Tank and his squadron one day, while cleaning some sewage pipes. The stench he could do without, though.  
  
“I am sure the General will be touched by how much you miss him,“ a cool voice laced with amusement interjected. “I only fear starting fights will sent you straight to the sanitation department again. Three months without a demerit Trach, a new record I guess.“  
  
Uniform jacket impeccable, even after the long journey to the Jiaan system, Captain Tritt Opan looked as composed as ever as he crossed the hangar to join them.  
  
Tank quickly tried to put his helmet back on, while the other stormtroopers saluted. Opan waved his hand dismissively. “At ease, AN-3478. I can only imagine how hard it was to keep that one in line.“  
  
Masir grinned broadly and clapped the other man on the shoulder with enthusiasm “Opan, you kriffing son of a bantha. You would not believe how happy I am to see your ugly face. This damn rock is literally hell. There is exactly one shop and that sold out on brandy after three days. You don’t want to know, what we were forced to drink instead.“  
Luckily, Stormwater was able to brew a mean moonshine in addition to being a good pilot.  
  
“You come directly from the Steadfast?“  
  
Opan nodded. “Good news. The Finalizer will go out in the black again. We have a mission to the Outer Rim. Sergeant, inform Captain Fallon that I will join him shortly for a status report.“  
  
Tank saluted sharply with a “Yes, sir.“ and took his squad in direction of the Stormtrooper quarters. Masir gave his own men a short nod, who returned to their repair work. Opan’s blue eyes followed them with a thoughtful look.  
  
“How is the mood with the troops?“ He asked Masir.  
“Oh just wonderful. As I mentioned we ran out of booze ages ago and the food turned from bad to worse. They turned off the water showers a few weeks ago and there is exactly nothing to do here, safe walk from one sandy desolate end of the repair dock to the other sandy end. While everyone is getting more and more afraid, that we will all be put under someone like Quinn. Or that idiot Peavey will remain Commander permanently. A lot of people, who had connections, used them to arrange a transfer.“  
  
Luckily, only three of his pilots had done so, a loss he could easily compensate for some time. What worried him more was the state of his TIEs. The Galatean’s voice turned sarcastic.  
  
“Oh, and someone made sure we don’t get any spare parts, so we don’t get tempted to do anything useful, you know, like actually repairing the ship. Cadwick is going crazy by now.“  
Major Cadwick was the head engineer responsible for maintenance and repair on the Finalizer and Masir had never seen the normally stoic woman so frustrated ever before.  
  
Opan looked troubled for a moment, while he was contemplating the giant hole in the hangar wall. “Is she even ready for space?“  
“Sure,“ Masir shrugged. “If we close the B hangar, which means reduced number of TIEs during combat, and don’t do any hyper space jumps. Or you find a giant slab of spaceship quality durasteel on this rock, to get this hole sealed up.“  
  
“Well, we have to be in the Zidan system in two and a half days,“ Opan sighed. “And Hux will surely not ask Pryde for more time.“  
“Zidan system? And you only mention this now?“ Masir gave a little laugh, a drum of excitement running through him at the thought of a new mission. He longed to be in the air again, having never been grounded so long ever before. Peavey, that idiot, had even suspended all training flights, citing the need to safe resources.  
  
“That’s a place to have a good time. Beautiful women... and men,“ he added with a raised eyebrow in Opan’s direction. “I think there is a song about it. Any chances Hux is considering retirement there?“  
  
His fellow officer gave him a meaningful look “You know Hux, he is mostly considering how to get back on top. He wants to use this mission to his own advantage. To be honest we could need a success. The last months have not been easy, I have never seen the general so ...dejected.“  
  
Opan tiredly rubbed his temple, making Masir notice that under the familiar cool facade, there were signs of fatigue and stress. A few new lines, shadows under his eyes.  
  
“Surely not because of Kandia,“ Masir rolled his eyes. “Sorry, that one had ice-cold bitch out for an advancement written all over her.“  
  
“No,“ Opan grimaced, sharing Masir’s opinion of their former fellow officer. “Although it irks him to no end that she took some of his officers. No, Pryde’s promotion has really eaten at him ... and the fact that the new Supreme Leader does not really value his opinion. We have been basically put into some back office to rot.“  
  
“Mmh,“ Masir made a noncommittal sound. He was definitely not a fervent believer of First Order propaganda, having joined mostly for the money and because the recruiter had told him, that they would delete all his criminal records. Sometimes he even asked himself, if he should have joined the Resistance instead, like so many of his old mates from Galatea. Not for long though, hell, he was not the guy to sleep on the ground somewhere and rough it out as a guerrilla fighter. And under normal circumstances the food on a Stardestroyer was top-notch.  
  
Still, he had never understood what the whole spleen about the Supreme Leader was all about. Like most, he had never met Snoke in all his time with the Order and what he had seen of Kylo Ren had not impressed him much. Impulsive and ignorant if not outright cruel towards the crew. That he and Hux had never gotten along was no secret, many of their spats public enough to send the rumor mill running.  
  
“You think this mission is a way to get rid of him?“ And in addition to also get rid of his crew, that was the question. Masir mostly tried to stay out of the political maneuvering in the Order, the pilots being somewhat an entity on their own, had made that quite easy in the past. He did not fancy getting caught in the crossfire of the power struggles between the higher-ups.  
  
“Something is definitely not adding up, yes,“ and coming from Opan as the Informations officer, that was a surely a justified assessment. He let his gaze wander through the hangar, dropping his voice to nearly a whisper. “Killing Hux outright without good reason is probably political inadvisable at the moment, he still has too much support left, especially with the lower ranks. Although there have been some attempts in the last months.“  
  
Masir gave him a worried frown. “Really? How is Mitaka, then?“ The young lieutenant was a friend of his and he had been worried, how he was doing.  
  
“A nervous wreck, you know how he gets in dangerous situations. It has been a little bit like being behind enemy lines on the Steadfast. It will be good to be on the Finalizer again.“  
  
“So what is the deal with the mission?“  
Opan gave him a short rundown of the mission details, making Masir shake his head in thought. “Why sent Hux of all people, if Pryde thinks this mission is so important?“  
  
“Probably because he wants him to fail, having already placed Peavey as a replacement. Pryde knows perhaps something, we don’t, about the Zi’daya. He has been their Order contact for years. And the fact, that he did not even bother to make the Finalizer combat-ready. Could be a set-up to make Hux take the blame.“  
  
“And what is Hux’ plan?“  
“Convince the Zi’daya girl personally of the prowess of the First Order, so that we directly reap the benefits of this alliance. His words not mine,“ Opan’s mouth hinted at an amused smile.  
  
“Please tell me, we don’t rely on Hux’ ability to chat up a woman to get us through this,“ Masir felt a dark sense of foreboding rise up. He could already see himself be demoted to sanitation permanently; Peavey had always hated him after all. Old imperial stock that one, with all the prejudice, that came with it.  
  
“He is literally rubbish with girls. Do you remember these awkward meetings, where Kandia was trying to flirt with him? It took him months to catch up with that. And then he lectured her on the properties of Stardestroyer ion cannons and the advantages of the stormtrooper program all the time. No, just no.“  
  
“But General, that was such a brilliant tactical move. You really set an example for the whole Order, no for the whole galaxy,“ Opan imitated Kadia’s breathless, falsely sweet voice quite well. Although he appeared aloof most of the time, Masir knew by now, that his friend had quite the biting humor.  
  
“You forget, I had to sit through those meetings every day, you only every week. I still have nightmares. Luckily, we will only need to convince the Zi’daya of the Order’s merits not the General’s. Although that might be hard enough, what I could find out so far is not inspiring confidence,“ Opan pulled out his datapad, scrolling through some documents.  
  
“All my sources agree that Selene noe Sa’onserei is a competent, vivacious and opinionated young woman. An idealist. Adored by her people, many connections to the highest circles in the galaxy. A surprising amount of hands-on experience for someone born into a royal family. Not someone, who is easily influenced. And no love for the First Order I would wager.“  
  
“Connections to the Resistance?“  
  
“Nothing at all. What probably means someone quite good has rubbed her file squeaky clean. Her profile just screams Resistance sympathizer.“  
  
“So we have to call it a success, if she does not spit in his face at the first meeting,“ Masir mused in dismay. “You really are sure, we can’t reconsider retiring?“  
  
Opan shook his head with a laugh, as he made his way towards the hangar entrance. “Don’t even dream about it, Trach. And get your hair cut, it’s out of regulation again. You know how the General gets with these things.“ 

Outer Rim - Zidan System Capital Ellesmee

Selene crossed the familiar corridors of the Evenfall with a small smile on her face, making her way to the main conference room. It was good to be back on her ship. As much as she loved being planetside, she got restless after some time, craving the freedom of space. She didn’t know what she would do, if she couldn’t go on missions herself anymore.  
  
However, that was a thought for another day. She entered the room, the inner circle of her crew already present as requested.  
  
The Evenfall was not an overly large ship, built more for exploring than for combat, although they had some ion side cannons and advanced shields. Tay had also installed a little extra whump lately, that she was itching to try out. For normal missions, they were accompanied by four Tri-wasps, the customary Zidan combat ships fast and maneuverable. With two additional squads that number had been raised to twenty-six for this mission, putting her crew at 150 members with everyone included.  
  
This would allow them to stay in their own quarters, even when the Evenfall was parked in the Finalizer hangar, something they had agreed on as a safety measure. You never knew when to make a quick getaway.  
  
Shima, her second in command, was showing something to Briseis on his datapad, his blue eyes twinkling as he laughed loudly. Probably another holovid of little Becca. He completely adored his little girl. With light-brown locks artfully tousled and a light scruff on his handsome face he gave of a roguish charm, that more than one woman had fallen prey to in their youth.  
  
Briseis smiled warmly as well, although Selene could see the shadow of pain in her turquoise eyes that only a very keen observer would notice.  
  
For many years she and nearly everyone else had rather expected, that her two childhood friends would end up together. But then Shima had been caught up in a whirlwind romance with a young designer from Ellesmee, ending up happily married and with a child before you could blink. Selene knew, that Briseis had taken it hard, regretting that she had never tried to turn their relationship romantic. That Samara was a lovely, kind girl you simply couldn’t dislike, probably only made it worse.  
  
Briseis’ older brother Khendrik was leaning against the conference room’s wall scowling at his datapad as he scrolled through something, his sandy hair a lot more askew than normal. Knowing him, he was certainly agonizing about the mission details, seeing dangers everywhere. Even in a relaxed atmosphere like this, he gave of an air of permanent watchfulness, grey eyes noticing every movement. Khendrik was a member of the Zi’daya Morning Guard and her sworn protector. She was only too aware, that she did not always make his job an easy one.  
  
Selene slipped on a chair next to Elodia. Her aide greeted her with a soft smile on her full lips, her dark elegant features as pretty as Briseis’ fresh-faced blond beauty.  
  
The last occupant in the room gave her a friendly smile and a wave over his datapad as well, his brown almond-shaped eyes warm. Much slighter than military trained Khendrik and Shima it would be easy to underestimate the former slave, but Selene had seen him handle a knife often enough to know that his calm exterior hid a deadly edge.  
  
Fayth had been with the crew the shortest, but like the others, she would have trusted him with her life without hesitation. Briseis, Shima and Khendrik might have been her friends since they were all children, but the bond with Elodia and Fayth was just as strong, having been forged in danger and blood.  
  
She had an ominous feeling, that it would be tested before this mission was over.  
  
“So,“ she greeted her friends. “I hope you are all ready to go into the lion’s den. Can’t say I’m looking forward towards working with the Order, but if it helps us stop this disappearances, it seems we have no choice.“  
Selene looked at Fayth. “Any news on the Finalizer, yet?“  
  
He nodded. “We already got confirmation on the rendezvous coordinates, meeting time will be in six hours.“  
  
Selene took a deep breath, before going through the necessary preparations with her crew; it was time to get this party started.  
They had just cleared all supply topics, when Elodia’s datapad gave a ping for an incoming message, that made her scrunch her nose in surprise.  
  
“Hux’ aide sent us the “First Order Code of Conduct“ for our consideration as guests onboard the Finalizer. Looks like they have a whole book of rules and regulations in the First Order.“  
  
“We do have rules as well, at least ten. They are hanging next to the caf maker in the kitchen,“ Shima looked proud at remembering it.  
  
Briseis shook her head in bemused disbelief. “Those are the kitchen rules, Shima. Though that might explain, why it always looks like a mess in there.“  
  
Shima looked crestfallen for a moment. “I knew that, of course,“ he mumbled, sneaking the datapad from Elodia.  
  
“Let’s have a look.“ His face turned horrified as he scrolled through the document. “Please tell me this is a joke. Wearing uniform at all times in all public spaces of the ship. Don’t address a superior officer without permission. No food in the meeting rooms. No music in public spaces. No drinking. Approved list of hairstyles. How many regulations are there?“  
  
Elodia grabbed her datapad back with a laugh, scrolling through as well with widening eyes. “Thousands by the look of it. We are not expected to adhere to those are we?“  
  
Selene felt torn for a moment, before she shook her head. „We should try to not provoke anyone, but we are not part of the First Order. Don’t want to give them any wrong ideas. However, uniforms please today. We want to make a professional first impression.”  
  
“What?” Shima rolled his eyes. “We never wear uniforms. I don’t even know, if mine still fits.”  
  
“Samara’s cooking too good, old boy? You should probably cut back on this berry muffins she bakes.” Khendrik’s voice was mocking as he turned to his comrade.  
  
Shima answered with a rude hand gesture. “Who are you calling old? I can see a few new grey hairs from here, Shi’seko.”  
  
He looked at Selene with a glint in his eyes. “As for not provoking anyone. Isn’t that the Jawa calling the Ewok short? As far as I can remember, you have the most trouble of all of us to keep your thoughts to yourself. Sure you can hold back from telling your opinion on the First Order?”  
  
Selene sat up straighter. “I am capable of some restraint. Why is everyone so adamant to claim otherwise?”  
  
Briseis coughed behind her hand. ”Slave traders? Mataou?”  
  
Her friend felt a blush rise in her cheeks. ”Well, that might not have been my best moment. But…”  
  
Shima slapped his datapad on the table. “Okay, guys. Who’s in? Twenty credits that our dear Selene will last not more than three days until she drops a comment on planetary destruction or stormtrooper’s rights.”  
  
Elodia laughed. “I give her at least a week.”  
  
“Sorry, Sel, I know you,” Briseis did not look very sorry at all, her smile wide. ”I give it no more than twenty-four hours.”  
  
“Can we perhaps all remember that this is no joke but a dangerous mission?” Khendrik’s voice was exasperated as he chastised them. The others fell silent immediately, Briseis whispering “Spoilsport” under her breath.  
“The First Order is no joking matter. We have barely been able to keep them out of Ellesmee the last years. And I surely don’t have to tell you that General Hux is bad news. You want the Zidan system to end up like the Hosnian?”  
  
Selene quickly interjected before he could go on detailing the countless dangers he foresaw. “Actually there is something else. There is a part of the mission that is not strictly…official.”  
  
Shima snorted. “Why am I not surprised? When was the last time, we had a completely official mission?”  
  
“This has to stay strictly between us, as it is not council sanctioned,” the commander gave her friends a serious look, before explaining her brother’s plan.  
  
“This was a dangerous mission before,” Khendrik ran his hand through his hair, messing it up even more. ”Now, it is borderline crazy. You realize that a thousand things can go wrong? Your brother’s plans all have one thing in common: perfect in theory but in reality there is always an unforeseen element of utter chaos that makes them implode.”  
  
“Funny,” Selene narrowed her eyes on him in suspicion. “Tay was mostly concerned that I would do something reckless.”  
  
“That is basically what I meant,” Khendrik answered, making the others chuckle. Selene felt annoyance with him raise up within her. Her oldest brother Deacon had harassed her with copious advice to be careful for over an hour during their holo call yesterday as well.  
  
She had her own misgivings about the plan, a strange sense of foreboding that had not left her the last few days, but she had quite enough of people thinking she was too impulsive to pull this off. As if she could not fool some pompous First Order lackeys for a few weeks.  
  
“Perhaps, those First Order regulations are not that bad after all. Isn’t there something in there to ask for permission to speak freely before you criticize your superior?”  
  
“Whatever,” The captain made his way to the door. ”If you excuse me. I will try to prepare a minimum of safety measures so that we all might get out of this alive and well. I don’t fancy getting shot again.”  
That comment made Selene wince in guilt, knowing quite well that she was partly responsible for how things went down on Mataou. If she had not tried to free those slaves that night…  
  
“What crawled up his ass and died?” she asked Briseis.  
  
The blonde shook her head making her hair swing. “Don’t worry. He has been impossible the whole morning. Hangover I would wager. He chucked nearly half a bottle of Corellian brandy at my place yesterday evening.”  
  
Shima whistled in surprise. “Khendrik got drunk? One day before a mission? No way!”  
  
Briseis sighed and rubbed her temple. “Tasha sent the divorce papers yesterday. And Mum told him he just didn’t try hard enough to fix this. That’s how he ended up at my place.”  
  
Her explanation made Selene look at her in alarm. She had known that Khendrik’s marriage had problems and that he had moved out of his and Tasha’s house months ago; his wife had never warmed up to the fact that he was in the military and had tried to get him to resign for years. Kriff, she thought, the fact that he was shot last year on Mataou had surely not helped matters.  
  
“Oh no, not because he is still in the Morning Guard? I knew she was angry because of Mataou.”  
  
“No, Selene, that is not your fault, really. You know how much Khendrik lives for his duty. He would not want it any other way. And really, if it hadn’t happened on Mataou it could have happened on any other mission. We all know there are dangers in this line of work. The problem is that Tasha wants Khendrik to become someone he just is not. This has been brewing for a long time, probably since Linus’ birth.”  
  
Shima got up quickly, clasping Fayth on the shoulder on his way to the door. “This is getting too deep for me. Fayth, join me in search of an uniform?” The other man gave them an apologetic smile and followed him out of the door.  
  
“Typical, men,” Briseis commented, her eyes narrowing as she watched them leave. She sighed. ”Unfortunately, he still has a nice ass.”  
  
Selene touched her arm in sympathy. “How are you?”  
  
Her friend made an angry sound. ”This has to stop. I refuse to become the sort of woman who only feels good because she got a guy.” Her face showed a new resolve. ”Hey, I’m a successful pilot and hot as hell. I don’t need any guy. And I have just been promoted to wing leader of two squads. Thank you by the way, Selene. I will just concentrate on this mission.”  
  
“You have more than earned it. If you didn’t stay with the Research fleet you would have been promoted ages ago.”  
  
Elodia waved her datapad. “Or you start dating on the dark side.”  
  
Her tight black curls were bouncing as she tipped back her chair with a giggle. Nobody watching her would have thought that the young woman with the carefree attitude had been forced to do the dirty work of the Corellian spice cartel for years.  
”I could get used to this old-fashioned Imperial courtesy. This Lieutenant Mitaka is a cutie.”  
  
She began to read the last message aloud. “Dear Miss Brentiss, if it isn’t too inconvenient for you, would you please be so kind to relay the culinary preferences of Commander Sa’onserei and your crew to me, so that I can make the necessary arrangements?  
Isn’t that thoughtful?”  
  
“You realize, he is probably sixty and bald?” Briseis laughed at her, her good mood obviously restored.  
  
“Nope, he really is cute,” Elodia grinned. “Didn’t you read the mission briefing? There are information and pictures of all the senior staff included.”  
  
The blonde pilot looked at the datapad as well. “Okay, you are right, Mitaka is a sweet one.”  
She flipped through some pictures, stopping with a contemplating look on her face. “Sorry, with Khendrik turning up, I only had time for the essentials. Hm, you know Selene, General Hux is actually kind of hot in an unconventional way. If you like them tall and commanding, that is.”  
  
“The genocide on whole star systems might be a little bit off-putting, though,” Selene did not spare the datapad another glance, having spent far too much time yesterday evening pondering her Co-Commander. Somehow, she had thought Hux to be a somewhat younger - and admittedly better-looking - version of Pryde. A stiff Imperial with no imagination or compassion, whatsoever.  
  
Oh, and that was all there. Starkiller Base and the destruction of the Hosnian System were only the last and most prominent of a long list of atrocities committed in the name of the First Order. Not to mention countless rumors on how he got rid of the competition to rise in the Order’s ranks at such a young age. Utterly ruthless and coldly ambitious probably described it best.  
  
One line in the intelligence report had especially jumped out at her.  
  
Suspected of conspiracy for Brendol Hux’ murder.  
  
His own father. Sure, there had also been some information on the older Hux and his methods that hinted at a fate well deserved. She shuddered to think what kind of treatment exactly had made a First Order admiral intervene on his son’s behalf, but still…  
  
And then there were those hints of sharp intelligence. Not just Starkiller Base, it seemed that Hux development team had been responsible for nearly all technical advances in the Order in the last years. Damn it, they had even solved the third generation hypermatter-annihilation reactor’s stability issues. She had written a kriffing paper on that topic in her university days.  
  
Why did someone who was obviously brilliant follow something as dull and unimaginative as First Order propaganda? And why kill his father for what he had done to him and then continue his stormtrooper program? Was she just underestimating the effects of being brainwashed from birth? Could evil sometimes just not be explained?  
  
However, something just didn’t add up and it nagged at her mind. As with a malfunctioning droid she was trying to repair, the engineer in her could not help wanting to find out what it was.  
  
“Well, back to business,” Elodia confiscated her datapad and opened a file. ”We need to update shift plans taking into account the new crew members…” 

  


Nearly six hours later Selene made her way to the Evenfall’s bridge that was already bustling with activity. The large viewport to her left showed the beautiful greens and blues of Ellesmee planet, slowly getting smaller as they made their way into space.  
  
She let herself fall into an unoccupied chair next to Fayth, who was operating the Navigations station. Briseis was piloting the Evenfall herself today, her Tri-Wasp stored in their small hangar at the back of the ship.  
  
Selene shifted uncomfortably on her chair, not really used to the slightly stiff Commander’s uniform she was wearing. Fayth raised an eyebrow. “The uniform was your idea.”  
  
“And you look damn good in it. My brother really is an idiot,” Selene commented dryly.  
  
“You are not responsible for his actions,” Fayth typed something in his console before giving her a soft smile. “It just didn’t work out. I am searching for stability while he is still in the phase of his life where he wants to weigh all his options.”  
  
“That is the polite version for he has the emotional maturity of a three-year old and is sleeping around, isn’t it?”  
  
Fayth’ lips twitched. “Perhaps.”  
His tone turned more serious. “Don’t worry, though. This might have been a mistake, yes. But I am able to make my own mistakes now. You can’t even begin to understand how much that means to me. ” His eyes held a myriad of emotions. “And one day, if I am lucky, I will find someone who is just right for me. As will he.”  
  
Selene opened her mouth to answer, when suddenly the view in front of them changed. Filling out the viewport in every direction the distinct dagger-shaped form of the Finalizer had appeared.  
  
A soft shudder went through the Evenfall. “Tractor beam activated,” Briseis stated.  
  
“May the stars guide us all,” Khendrik murmured his eyes on the Stardestroyer in front of them.  
  
Selene was nearly tempted to agree with him. She had not expected the ship to be that large. This close it was like approaching a small moon.  
  
“Never seen a Stardestroyer before?” Fayth asked.  
  
She shook her head. “Have you?”  
  
“There were a General or two, who liked to bring their Stardestroyers to Mataou for shore leave,” Her lieutenant’s dark eyes had a sudden hard edge to them. “Some of the officers were… customers.”  
  
“Any words of advice regarding the First Order?” Selene could guess that his memories were painful, but any insight would help.  
  
“In my experience there are two types in the Order. The ones who fervently believe all that propaganda nonsense. And those who just use it to justify their own cruelty.”  
  
The Evenfall had reached the Finalizer’s hangar doors, the dark shadow of the bigger ship darkening the bridge ominously as they passed inside.  
  
“You don’t advance in the First Order without getting blood on your hands. So don’t expect anyone you meet on this ship to have anything even remotely resembling a conscience. And don’t ever trust them.” 

Outer Rim - Zidan System The Finalizer

  


Standing in front of the floor length mirror built into his wardrobe, Armitage Hux adjusted his black uniform with a few well-practiced gestures. His fingers quickly subdued a few strands of red hair back into submission, before he was completely satisfied with his appearance.  
  
Nothing he could do about the dark circles under his eyes and his even paler than usual skin, though. The last time he had slept had been more than two days ago, and then only an hour or two, onboard of the shuttle from the Steadfast to the Jiaan system.  
  
He was exhausted enough to contemplate another dose of stims, but as he reached for the round application device a slight tremor in his hand warned him that he had probably already reached the maximum dose in one day. Would not help if he greeted his Co-Commander in the medbay.  
  
Millicent entered his bedroom on silent paws, giving an annoyed mewl. Hux quickly scratched the ginger tabby cat under her chin, her green eyes closing in pleasure. He knew he had neglected her the last days, not even finding the time to return to his quarters before now.  
  
“Sorry, my dear,” he tried to appease her. “I have to leave again. Duty is calling.” She promptly raised her little nose in the air in annoyance, her tail swishing angrily as she jumped on his bed. He would order Mitaka to get some cream to bribe himself back into her good graces later.  
  
Steeling himself, he left his quarters with purposeful strides. Mitaka was already waiting in front of the door, falling into step beside him, as he made his way to the lift at the end of the corridor.  
  
“The Zi’daya have already requested docking rights, sir. We have allocated them to the A hangar but with the B hangar closed it will be a tight fit, when all TIEs and shuttles are onboard.”  
  
Hux felt the first twinge of irritation towards their allies before they had even arrived. He knew he had cut the time to return to his quarters rather short – fifteen minutes to shower and change into a new uniform after the last one was soaked through with sweat. The last few jumps had been hell on the ion engines, the engine room nearly unbearable hot even with a whole battalion of stormtroopers pulling shifts to cool them down with water.  
  
He had been forced to split down the journey from the Jiaan system into dozens of hyperspace skips, their B hangar hull still a gaping wound that any longer jump would rip open. They had barely made it in time yes, but only with great cost to both the machines’ and the crew’s endurance. And there still was no solution for the remaining damage. They needed a repair dock and parts before setting out again. He clenched his jaw angrily at the thought of having to ask his Co-Commander for help.  
  
“Tell Captain Trach to move part of his TIEs to the reserve C hangar, Lieutenant. We will have the repairs done, before we need the blast doors in battle.” Hux forcefully pressed the lift button a few times impatiently, he did not fancy arriving at the hangar like some rushed schoolboy late for class.  
  
“I went through Captain Opan’s briefing information on the Zi’daya and Selene noe Sa’onserei. Should I give you a short rundown, sir?”  
  
The general gave his aide an approving nod; this was why he valued Mitaka so much. He had anticipated that Hux himself would not have the time to do so and planned ahead accordingly.  
  
“The Zidan system was settled more than six hundred years ago by Rhea noe Sa’onserei, direct ancestor of the current Shue. A visionary woman hailing from Coruscant, who set out to find a better life in the Outer Rim. Her people worship her as a saint, whereas Core World history shows her more as something like a rebel.”  
Why wasn’t he surprised by that?  
  
“Five populated planets, although two are only mining stations. The other three are considered some of the most plentiful in the galaxy, though.”  
  
As the lift brought them to the deck where the hangar was located, Mitaka gave a short overview over the Zi’daya’s economy and politics.  
Stepping off at their stop, Hux interrupted him. “And Selene noe Sa’onserei?”  
  
“Twenty-seven years old. Two older brothers. Her parents have been killed in a shuttle accident rumored to have been a contract assassination by Core World rivals fifteen years ago. Obviously she and her brothers brought the culprits to justice themselves.”  
  
That made Hux pause for a moment. “So the little princess has claws.”  
  
The lieutenant nodded. “Three degrees in engineering. Aerodynamics, thermodynamics and mech tech. Part of the Zi’daya development team. Very outspoken in regards of helping those in need.”  
  
An idealist, wonderful.  
  
Mitaka stopped as they reached the hangar doors. “And she was elected most sought-after bachelorette of the galaxy by the Galaxy Gossip two years ago.”  
  
“What? Is that a joke?”  
  
“Well she is rich, intelligent and well connected. And…” Mitaka swallowed, a slight blush on his cheeks. “Very beautiful.”  
  
“Lieutenant, relevant information only please. And not your personal opinion,” Hux scoffed. He had seen enough of the sort of woman, who made the gossip headlines, on the fundraising parties of the Order. Overly made up and heads full of air.  
  
The engineering degrees had probably been paid for. What should he do with someone like this on a Stardestroyer? He wished he could hoist her on Peavey to get them both out of the way. Instead, he needed to get into the little chits good graces.  
  
Opan and Peavey were already waiting in front of a medium sized elegant space ship, its hull gleaming white with an unusual pattern of leaves etched into its surface. It seemed he and Mitaka had made it just in time for the Zi’daya’s arrival. A pity he could not stop Peavey from attending as his second in command. Just seeing the rotund, permanently red-faced captain reminded him of Pryde again. He acknowledged both man’s salute with a short nod, not in the mood for Peavey’s smarmy talkativeness.  
  
As the ship’s doors opened with a soft hiss, he immediately knew which one of the four newcomers was the Zi’daya heir.  
  
Full, rose-colored lips and high cheekbones in a classical beautiful face, her sun-kissed skin a dramatic contrast to the white blond hair. Unusual golden eyes roamed over the hangar with a bright intelligence in them, taking everything in at a glance, before focusing on him and his officers.  
  
A form-fitting uniform in royal blue und golden yellow – the Zi’daya colors if he remembered correctly – hugged temptingly feminine curves. Her movements were graceful as a dancer’s, as she made her way over to them. The uniform’s cut was a far cry from regulations, Hux mused absentmindedly, the Order permitted a lot less cleavage. The same could be said about the way her hair hang over her shoulder in a thick shiny braid, nearly reaching to her waist and the golden jewelry adorning one ear tip. Everything about her just screamed civilian. He pulled of his gloves.  
  
“General Hux.”  
Commander Sa’onserei greeted him with a firm handshake, an unfamiliar melodious accent to her Basic. Her hand was warm and surprisingly calloused. Those golden eyes behind long dark lashes were even more captivating up close. He had never seen a color like that on a human before. They reminded him of a cat. A strange tingle went through his body from the place where their skin touched, sending warning bells ringing.  
  
Selene noe Sa’onserei was nothing like the society ladies he met on Coruscant. He might have even been wrong about those engineering degrees.  
  
“Commander Sa’onserei.”  
However, the General was sure of one thing; trouble had just stepped on his ship.  
  
He curtly introduced his officers. Mitaka stammering nervously at the Commander’s warm smile, while Peavey practically leered at her while his gaze raked over her form. The man really was a disgrace to the Order, Hux thought angrily.  
  
He examined his Co-Commanders companions, trying to get a first impression, while she concluded the round of introductions. He immediately dismissed Captain Khi’sheko, her second in command, with his disheveled hair and rumpled uniform. What the Zi’daya military set as a standard… On his ship that would have been several demerits.  
  
Captain Shi’seko was obviously Sa’onserei’s bodyguard, his pale eyes never resting as he scanned the hangar and every occupant for dangers. The stiff set of his jaw indicated that he was not happy to be here. Interesting.  
  
As was Miss Brentiss, who was not in the military, but moved with a deadly precision that hinted at some kind of combat training. Hux was quite sure she was hiding a knife or two under the smartly cut, dark blue dress she was wearing.  
  
“If it is agreeable with you, Commander, we will station your Tri-wasp squads directly in the adjoining bays. We can discuss all other details in the meeting room,“ the General knew that the Zi’daya had politely declined an invitation to stay in the Finalizer’s guest quarters, even if it would have been more comfortable. A clever move. He would have done the same.  
  
“That would be very convenient, thank you, General,” his Co-Commander graced him with one of her brilliant smiles. ”I have to admit this is the first time I am onboard of a Stardestroyer. The mere size is quite impressive. It seems like a small planet of its own.”  
  
Hux nearly rolled his eyes at so much naivety; she clearly had no understanding of the Order’s power. Civilians. “The First Order Stardestroyers are universally acknowledged as the pinnacle of military starship development. With a few of them you could probably destroy a small planet.” They slowly made their way through the hangar.  
“More than 1500 ion cannons, a crew of more than eighty thousand at full capacity, powered by a third generation hypermatter-annihilation reactor and six ion engines. And the First Order employs more than twenty of this ships. Not to speak of our Dreadnoughts.”  
  
“Indeed,” the smile fell from Sa’onserei’s face at his answer, her eyes turning much colder. Belatedly Hux realized that his words, meant to highlight the Order’s might, could also be taken as a not so subtle threat. As the Zi’daya heir took in the many combat ships stationed in the hangar, a dark look quickly passed over her face.  
  
Opan caught his eyes, shaking his head slightly. His Informations officer obviously thought he should try harder. As the group passed through the Finalizer’s impeccable halls on the way to the prepared meeting room, he raked his brain for something innocuous to say.  
  
Stars, he hated small talk. Mitaka, on the other hand, did not seem to have that problem. He could hear him chatting amicably with Miss Brentiss, the lieutenant’s voice cheerful. Hux needed to reign him in later, before he spilled anything vital to the pretty, dark-skinned aide.  
  
Clearing his throat, he turned to his Co-Commander. “I heard Ellesmee is considered quite beautiful, Commander. One of the most plentiful planets in the galaxy?”  
  
Kriff, he was tired. Now she probably thought, he planned to seize the planet’s resources for the First Order.  
  
As expected Sa’onserei’s eyes flashed dangerously, before she hid her feelings behind a coldly polite smile.  
“Very beautiful, especially the Capital, yes. It is a pity, that we don’t have the time for you to come planetside and see it for yourself,” her tone insinuated quite the opposite, it was clear she wanted him as far away from Zidan soil as possible.  
  
“Not as beautiful as you are, Milady,” Peavey used the opportunity to interrupt them with an oily smile.  
  
Sa’onserei gave him another of those coldly polite smiles, obviously not impressed. It was a stark contrast to the warm smile she had worn before.  
“Please, we don’t stand on ceremony on Ellesmee. Selene is quite okay.”  
  
“That wouldn’t be appropriate,” the General gave Peavey a warning look. “It is First Order protocol to use proper rank.”  
  
“And we wouldn’t want to violate First Order regulations,” he was quite sure, he detected more than a hint of sarcasm in his Co-Commanders melodious voice. Typical of a civilian to not understand the importance of proper behavior in the ranks. She probably let her crew run wild without any discipline whatsoever.  
  
“I hope your journey to the Zidan system was uneventful, General?”  
  
“As uneventful as we could expect, seeing that we could not use the hyperspace jump as normal,” since they needed to discuss strategy later, it was no use trying to keep the damages from her. ”The ship still has a tear in the B hangar’s outer hull that needs to be repaired.”  
  
“How did you even get here with a tear in the outer hull? You didn’t jump? That would have teared the ship apart,” Sa’onserei’s voice was incredulous.  
  
“Around ten hyperspace skips of twelve short jumps,” he explained curtly, as he did not want to prolong the discussion.  
  
“Are you completely…” The Zi’daya caught herself, as her second in command murmured something in their melodious language. “That is quite… daring. The ion engines didn’t overheat?”  
  
Hux felt irritation raise again. Did she think he was an incompetent idiot? “We took preemptive measures to prevent that, cooling them down with water. It’s not my first day on this ship, Commander.”  
  
“But you would have needed thousands of liters for that. And still…”  
  
“It got as hot as in hell in there. Believe me, I spent enough time there in the last two days to know. Although, it was manageable in twenty minutes shifts.”  
  
Sa’onserei raised an eyebrow in surprise; she had obviously thought he would not get his hands dirty.  
  
“Well, you sure have enough personnel to pull this off,” her eyes met his accusingly. “Although this risk might have easily been prevented, if it occurred to you to just contact me in order to postpone this meeting.”  
  
Hux did not even try to keep the anger out of his voice at these words. Did she just insinuate that he needlessly endangered his ship and his crew? As if they would have had any chance to get the Finalizer repaired, while under Pryde’s thumb.  
  
“There was no risk, as I had it all under control. Although I can imagine without any experience in starship battle and the requirements of war, this might seem frightening to you.”  
  
“Fine,” she snapped back. ”Perhaps my experience in ship repairs might be useful then, seeing that we obviously won’t be able to leave without an intact ship.”  
  
She gave him an expectant look. “Well, lead the way. Let’s have a look at the damage.”  
  
  
An hour later, a still quietly seething Hux was standing next to the B hangar entrance, while Commander Sa’onserei and Major Cadwick were inspecting the hole in the outer hull through a viewport. It had been impossible to stop his Co-Commander from coming here directly, she had, quite correctly, he had to admit grudgingly, stated that any plans they made were depending on the time the repairs would take.  
  
“That isn’t a tear,” Sa’onserei murmured with narrowed eyes. “More like half the hangar wall missing. How did you plan to repair that, General?”  
  
Damn him, if he knew. “I thought the Zi’daya were famous for their advanced tech, I assume this should not be a problem for one of your repair docks?”  
  
“Not for a ship this size, finding a docking port that will fit would already set us back days,” she bit her full lip obviously deep in thought. ”Major Cadwick, what do you think about adamantium steel? Would that be adequate for the expected strain even during a jump?”  
  
The major’s eyes widened in surprise. ”Adamantium, Ma’am? Oh, of course that would work. But that’s impossible, the costs alone… You could pay a king’s ransom with that.”  
  
“Don’t worry, I might have something available from our own mines.” Sa’onserei smiled, clearly warming up to the solution. “Shima, contact my brother immediately. Adamantium should allow us to go a lot thinner on the needed material. I actually wanted to test the new alloy in space. We will need… Major Cadwick, could you calculate the measurements for us?”  
  
“Oh, yes of course, I have already done so.” The Major pulled out her datapad, quickly showing them the numbers.  
  
“That is brilliant, thank you. Tay should also sent us one of the outer space repair crews. I think we can manage this in four or five days without needing to dock.”  
  
“From your own mines? I didn’t know that you also mine adamantium,” Hux was quite sure, that it had not been mentioned in Mitaka’s summary.  
  
Sa’onserei looked up at his interruption, something like unease flickering in her golden eyes.  
  
“A recent development, General.” She quickly turned to Cadwick again, clearly eager to avoid the subject, Hux noted. She did not want him to know about those mines, it seemed.  
  
“You are sure, that this will be okay? The Order can pay you at least a compensation,” the General did not like the thought of being indebted to his Co-Commander, before the mission had even started.  
  
The Zi’daya’s gaze turned amused suddenly. “If you are so adamant about it, you can invite me to a drink in return.” She paused. “You do have something like a bar on this ship, don’t you?”  
  
“The officer’s lounge,” though he could count on the fingers of one hand, how often he had been there. He preferred a quiet brandy alone on his sofa, if he drank anything at all. Although he supposed some place to unwind was good for the morals of the troops. He did certainly not fancy taking a drink there with Sa’onserei under the scrutiny of half the crew. Why was the woman completely unable to do anything the proper way?  
  
“Good, since that is settled,” she turned to Cadwick again. “Anything else you need, Major?”  
  
“Oh, we had so many problems with getting repair parts. Especially for the TIE-fighters,” the older officer was practically ringing her hands in despair. Hux had not even known she was so upset about the topic.  
  
“Yeah, I know supply is a kriffing mess at the moment. Everyone selling bantha crap and that for outrageous prices. Luckily we manufacture a lot of parts ourselves these days,” Sa’onserei patted the Major on the arm in sympathy.  
  
Hux listened, more and more surprised as she went through the list with the Major, making suggestions for replacement parts here and there, but always asking for the other woman’s opinion. She clearly knew what she was doing.  
  
In the end, Major Cadwick beamed at her, as if she was the Imperator reborn. The General frowned. In all the years she had been the responsible officer for maintenance and repairs on the Finalizer, he had never seen that woman smile. Not once.  
  
Opan stepped next to him, leaning closer to comment quietly. “She certainly is something, isn’t she?”  
  
He rubbed his temple in annoyance; he could feel the beginnings of a headache starting.  
  
  
Hours later the first twinges of pain had blossomed into a full-blown migraine and he was sick to death of Selene noe Sa’onserei.  
  
After a short visit to the bridge, they had discussed their next steps. It had been agreed that the Finalizer would stay in Ellesmee orbit, until all repairs were done and they had been able to restock their supplies.  
They had then decided to continue in the morning, going to one of the Finalizer’s many cantinas for dinner.  
  
Hux’ hands tightened on the knife as he cut a piece of meat on his plate a little more forcefully than was strictly necessary. He imagined it was Sa’onserei’s pretty, little neck for a moment.  
He had already discarded a dozen plans to get rid of her; unfortunately, he had found no way to pass it off as an accident towards both Pryde and her grandmother so far.  
  
Every single interaction on his ship had been exactly like the one with Cadwick. His Co-Commander would sweep in, all warm smiles and friendly helpfulness.  
Her personal updated star-charts of the Outer Rim territories for his Navigations officers on the bridge, help in sourcing food supplies for the kitchens. And his crew would lap it up after a short moment of confusion, all bopping their heads, smiling as they agreed with everything she said.  
  
His annoyance deepened, as he watched her speaking animatedly with the officers at the table. Normally composed Opan even smiling at her once or twice. It was disgusting.  
  
He might have actually preferred her to be some useless airhead like he had expected. But no, under the unprofessional familiar attitude she was surprisingly capable.  
  
“Some people are just born to lead,” his father would have said. Selene noe Sa’onserei probably had never entered a room in her life without having everyone’s attention immediately. While he had always had to fight with teeth and claws for any form of respect.  
“Pathetic and weak-willed,” Brendol Hux’ voice was never far from his mind. But he had shown him and he would show Sa’onserei, if it was necessary. The Finalizer was his ship.  
  
It didn’t matter if his Co-Commander was a do-gooder of epic proportions or the most accomplished manipulator he had ever met.  
Whatever her angle was, it would definitely not work on him. 

Cold and efficient, that was the all-overpowering impression Selene got from the First Order Stardestroyer. Even the Cantina was uninviting, all durasteel walls and dark grey floors only interrupted by the foreboding First Order flag here and there. Would it kill them to add one different color? It was probably against regulations, though.  
  
The same could be said about the ship’s commander. General Hux was easily the most exasperating man she had ever had the misfortune to meet. She watched him inconspicuously out of the corner of her eyes, as Shima explained Zi’daya cuisine to his officers. Next to Peavey, Opan and Mitaka some lieutenants from the bridge had joined them for dinner. Clearly, Hux was not interested in their small talk, those normally piercing green eyes slightly softer as he concentrated on his plate. But then there was no need to get to know the cultural quirks of the planets one planned to conquer, wasn’t there?  
  
She was still flummoxed by the stunt he pulled to get here; hyperspace skipping with a Stardestroyer. And people called her reckless. Although her Co-Commander had been adamant, that with the proper calculations and precautions there had been no risk at all. In her opinion, he had been just too arrogant and prideful to even consider asking for more time.  
  
Working with him, should prove … interesting, she thought. The way he said her name with his clipped Imperial accent, somehow injecting a tone of disapproval in the one word. Uggh. And how he used his greater height to look down his nose at her. She wasn’t small, but damn the man was tall.  
  
When their hands had touched for the first time in the hangar, a strange tingle had ghosted over her skin. Probably some sixth sense warning her of danger. And Hux was dangerous. She had been surprised, how quickly he had caught on her slip-up with the adamantium. Unfortunately, that mine was not technically in Zi'daya territory and better kept from First Order knowledge. She definitely would have to watch herself better around her Co-Commander.  
  
How Briseis could have ever called the man good-looking was beyond her. Well, perhaps, if he got that permanent scowl of his face and a complete personality transplant.  
  
“So we do like it quite spicy, you know. There is nothing like a nice curry on a cold evening.” Shima quickly spooned a large portion of his food into his mouth. Her second in command was impossible with food. “But this one is quite good as well. Are those Ryloth spices? You have good sources. We couldn’t get them for month now on Ellesmee.”  
  
“Ryloth is under a trade embargo for anyone outside the First Order as a disciplinary measure,” General Hux interjected cooly. So, he had listened after all, she thought.  
  
“Disciplinary measure? Well, that is one way to call the forceful quelling of an uprising,” something about the way he so casually spoke about the First Order’s cruelty just rubbed her the wrong way.  
  
“Perhaps the people of Ryloth should not have helped the Resistance, then. There are consequences for …unruly behavior.”  
  
That cold-hearted bastard.  
  
“Oh, I’m sure that message has been received. Killing half a planets populace will achieve that, won’t it?”  
  
Hux gaze was penetrating as he stared at her over the table, his jaw clenched in obvious anger. It seemed she had successfully provoked him enough to let the mask of cold, Imperial courtesy slip. She could not help feeling a little smug at that, even as she saw Shima roll his eyes in amusement at her. It had cost her twenty credits, though.  
  
“I assume, you would have let them get away with their provocations, Commander?”  
  
Selene gave her Co-Commander an insincere smile. “Since I obviously have no experience in warfare, I would never dare judge First Order policy. I leave that to the experts.”  
  
An uncomfortable silence had descended on the table at their little spat, no one daring to interrupt. Selene ate a little of her own curry absentmindedly, having lost her appetite for it.  
  
“It is nice to have a dinner like that isn’t it?” Friendly Lieutenant Mitaka tried quite bravely to get the conversation going again. “So much better than nutritional milk.”  
  
“Nutritional milk? You mean you normally don’t eat here?” Elodia gave the young officer a surprised look. Selene had noticed that her friend had barely left Mitaka’s side since they boarded the Finalizer, the two of them chatting animatedly the whole time. In contrast to her and Hux they seemed to get along quite well. She made a mental note to tease her aide about it later.  
  
“Oh no, as officers we are obliged to take at least two meals in form of the nutritional milk.”  
  
Hux rolled his eyes, making quite clear that he thought the topic to be irrelevant.  
“It is the by far the most time efficient and nutritional balanced way to feed the troops. The First Order has perfected the ingredients over the years.”  
  
“Yeah, but it still tastes like crap,” Shima did not try to mask his distaste.  
  
“Do you have any clues regarding the attacks on the First Order?” Selene swiftly interrupted and changed the topic, she did not want to be lectured on superior Order regulations.  
  
“Unfortunately, there have been no distress signals received. We will have to rely on scheduled flight logs regarding the last known locations of the ships,“ taking into account that something had taken First Order ships so quickly, that they had not even been able to call for help, Hux appeared curiously unconcerned.  
  
“But seeing, that it has been only shuttles and a suppIy transporter, that went missing so far I don’t foresee this to be a big military threat. Perhaps some overambitious space pirates or smugglers.”  
  
“Sorry, but that is utter Bantha crap,” Selene realized that a few missing ships and their crews were perhaps of no consequence for General Hux, but she would not allow his arrogant and uncaring attitude to endanger her mission and her people. ”Why would any pirate leave ships worth thousands of credits behind?”  
  
Green eyes flashing again at her questioning him, Hux scoffed. “I don’t presume to understand the mind of some Outer Rim riff raff. Doesn’t matter, though. We will find the culprit and mete out a punishment, so it doesn’t happen again.”  
  
“I am more concerned with finding my missing people, than fiery retribution.” There had to be a reason why in some cases only the crew had been taken. The stars knew what happened to them.  
  
“I hope you don’t have too high expectations for that, Commander. They are most likely dead,” the General’s face remained impassive as he gave his cold assessment.  
  
That asshole. Selene contemplated throwing her dinner plate at him in anger for a split second.  
  
“Perhaps we should continue the discussion in the morning?” she got up rather quickly, her chair scratching over the floor. She should better leave before she gave in to the urge to strangle the man.  
  
Her movement made everyone else on the table get up as well, dinner obviously concluded. Shima gave his remaining food a remorseful look.  
  
“A word in private, Commander?” Hux had gotten up as well, his posture ramrod straight, the tone of his question carefully polite. If she had not seen those flashes of anger in his eyes before, she would have thought him to be completely unaffected.  
  
Khendrik gave her an uneasy look, clearly not happy about leaving her alone with Hux. Selene softly shook her head at him. She wasn’t afraid of the General.  
  
He quickly led the way out of the cantina and along another long hallway, opening a door at the end and inviting her inside.  
  
The way Hux quite forcefully pushed the doorpanel to the small meeting room they had entered, leaving the two of them completely alone, should probably have made her nervous.  
  
It still took her by complete surprise as he suddenly advanced on her, making her retreat a few steps until her back was nearly hitting the wall. He leaned in even more, slapping one gloved hand against the durasteel wall next to her head, effectively caging her in. There was nothing cool and collected about his piercing eyes any more, as he snapped at her, his voice nearly a growl.  
  
“I fear, Commander, you have come here under some wrong assumptions. The Finalizer is my ship and I won’t be questioned or ridiculed in front of my crew. You are a guest on this ship because of First Order generosity and nothing more. So I expect you to smile, look pretty and keep your rebellious leanings to yourself. Is that clear?”  
  
He was so close to her, that she could feel his body heat even through the uniform. The tall, lean lines of his body made her disconcertingly aware of the fact that he was physically stronger than she was and could easily overpower her.  
  
Hux stayed in place a few seconds, before taking a step back and turning towards the door. He obviously took her silence for fearful acquiescence.  
  
To be honest, Selene was a little stunned, although not really concerned. There was a lot more fire behind the stiff First Order façade than she would have ever expected. Her Co-Commander was nothing like that reptile Pryde. Intriguing. She had always enjoyed a challenge.  
  
Her heartbeat speeding up in a belated reaction to the sudden rush of adrenaline, she could not help the small chuckle that escaped her. The sound stopped him short at his way out of the room.  
  
“One question,” her voice was mocking as she stepped between him and the door, swinging her hips in a near saunter. “Does that cute little intimidation routine actually work on people?”  
  
She watched in satisfaction, as the realization, that she was not impressed in the slightest, washed over his face. He had not really thought she would be this easily cowed?  
  
“I fear, you are under wrong assumptions, General. This mission is under our joined Co-Command, meaning that we will make all important decisions together and I expect you to inform me about anything vital going on. If that is too challenging for you, I could do the heavy-lifting and you may stand back and look pretty.”  
  
She looked him up and down provocatively. As expected, Hux’ eyes burned in such wild anger at her, that it was a wonder that she was not incinerated at the spot. As he opened his mouth to berate her, she quickly put a finger to his full lips to stop him. His breath was a hot whisper on her skin.  
  
“Shhhh, let me finish,” she kept her tone light. ”If you have any problem with that, I would suggest that you take it up with your superiors: the Supreme Leader and Allegiant General Pryde. I would advise against it though. I would so hate having to report to them, that you have been in any way uncooperative.”  
  
Selene gave the General one last brilliant smile as the threat sunk in; then she left the room, triumph hot in her veins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lots of love to MFA101, LeAnn, legion11 and the guest that left a kudos and comment.
> 
> Thank you so much.
> 
> I guess this went not quite like expected for both of them. Will this mission be smooth sailing from now on? Or do we foresee some more storms?  
> What a question (evil laughter)…


	3. Where sparks fly...

Sometimes I wished intergalactic diplomacy included an open airlock and a hard shove.  
Oilena noe Sa’onserei – Current Shue of Ellesmee

Outer Rim- Ellesmee Orbit – The Finalizer

Elodia felt a bubble of joy rise up inside her, as she entered the meeting room for the morning meeting to find Lieutenant Mitaka was already present. She had rather hoped he would be early to prepare the meeting, allowing them to have a few minutes to themselves. 

Looking up from the datapad, he was avidly typing on, Dopheld Mitaka gave her a wide smile, his big brown eyes sparkling in welcome.

“Elodia,” it had taken her two days of gentle prodding to get him to use her given name instead of the more formal “Miss Brentiss”. Well at least as long as General Hux was not present. Elodia had quickly learned, that while the Finalizer crew might not be as stuck-up as she had anticipated, no one was brave enough to openly violate Order regulations under Hux’ nose. The General was running a tight ship. 

“Good morning, Dopheld. Should I help you with setting up the screens?” Smiling at the lieutenant as he thanked her for the help, she went around the big oval meeting table preparing the tech at every seat, as he went in the other direction. 

They both finished their round at the same moment, reaching for the last screen, their fingers brushing slightly. Elodia felt a warm thrill course through her. Dopheld blushed slightly, giving her a shy look from under his long dark lashes. She let him handle the last screen and opened the file he had sent her the previous evening on her datapad. 

“Thank you for the shift plans. Although there are some things I don’t quite understand…”

“Oh, we can go through them together after the meeting, if you want to.”

She should probably stop this, before it went any further. While Selene had only jokingly said, she hoped, she would not need to give her a demerit for fraternization with the enemy soon, she was not stupid. There was quite a high probability, that they would one day find themselves on different sides of a military conflict. 

But then she had never felt such an instant connection with anyone ever before. Talking to Dopheld was just so easy, his gentle nature and soft smiles making her feel comfortable and cherished at the same time. 

“Ah, here you are,” Shima gave her a knowing look, as he entered the room. 

“Where is Selene?” Elodia frowned in concern as the room began to fill up with crewmembers from both the Zi’daya and the First Order side. She had the ominous feeling her friend would be late again. No doubt on purpose. There was just no way one could arrive at every meeting exactly five minutes late otherwise. Enough to provoke, but not enough to disrupt the agenda. Selene had quickly found all the buttons to push with Hux and she was not shy in doing so. 

To say, that the two Co-Commanders did not get along would have been the understatement of the century. 

The last five days had been all icy politeness and barely hidden barbs. Elodia had begun to dread every meeting, in which they were both present, the atmosphere immediately so charged, that it was nearly impossible to work productively. 

Surprisingly her most productive meetings had been the ones Hux conducted without his Co-Commander. The General had been focused, but much more constructive than she had expected, asking pointed questions at the right places, while letting the experts do their work. She could nearly understand, why Dopheld was so adamant that he really liked working for him. 

Although she would never tell her friends, there was something to say about the efficient way meetings were organized in the Order. She loved her adopted people dearly, but sometimes the typical Zi’daya exuberance and inability to focus on one task at a time could be exhausting. Funny, but still exhausting. 

As every morning, Hux entered exactly two minutes before the meeting started, murmuring a short greeting. Green eyes narrowing at the fact that his Co-Commander was still absent, he took some forceful steps to an empty chair at the middle of the table. The space around it and the opposite chair was curiously empty. Everyone had learned quite quickly, that it was wise to stay as far away as possible from the crossfire, migrating more and more to the edges of the table. 

The General gave Elodia, who had sat down between Dopheld and Shima, a questioning look.  
“Miss Brentiss, will Commander Sa’onserei not join us today?”

Wonderful, was she now supposed to cover for her friend?

To be honest, Hux made her a little nervous. Her time with the Corellian spice traders, unwilling as it had been, had at least taught her to distinguish those, who were only pretending to be dangerous from those who really were. The General was definitely in the latter category. She was quite grateful for the comforting weight of one of her knifes on her thigh. 

“She is bringing us all some caf. Should be here any second,” trust Shima to just handle the situation with nonchalance, outwardly oblivious to the undercurrents in the room. 

Elodia threw a look at the timepiece on the wall, silently cursing Selene for her stubbornness. Her friend had a tendency to just roll over any opposition like an avalanche. One with a cute smile, but still unstoppable, when she had set her mind on something.  
And she seemed to have set her mind on breaking every First Order regulation possible. Or driving General Hux crazy. What was probably one and the same. 

She should know, after all she had successfully turned her from would-be assassin to friend without even trying. Sometimes she still marveled, how she had come from one invitation to a dorm party she had just not been allowed to decline to fleeing from the spice traders in the night and applying for Zi’daya citizenship. 

Watching as Hux glared at the still closed door, his anger a dark cloud of menace around him, she wondered how it would play out this time. Perhaps Selene had finally met someone, who would not easily bend to her formidable will. 

Hux had thought his anger at Sa’onserei had already reached boiling point, but her sight as she finally graced the meeting with her presence proved him wrong.

Captain Shi’seko opened the door for her, as she breezed in, balancing a tray with cups in her hands. The turquoise blue of her dresses skirts was twirling around her like the waves of a faraway tropical ocean, showing tantalizing glimpses of her shapely legs here and there. One shoulder was completely bare, exposing her sun-kissed skin. Suitable for a garden party perhaps, but definitely not for a meeting on a war ship. 

He held back on commenting though, unwilling to give her the satisfaction of knowing that it bothered him. He had learned that lesson the first time she had shown up in civilian clothes. (“Not all of us are content with wearing the same outfit every day. But how flattering, that you are so concerned with my state of dress.” The suggestive tone of her answer to his inquiry, if she had forgotten this was a military vessel, had made him blush in front of the whole bridge.) 

“Sorry for the delay,” she gave them a wide smile, setting her load on the table. “But I brought everyone caf.” 

Hux felt his annoyance creep into his voice, as he greeted her.  
“How nice of you to join us, Commander Sa’onserei. I already wondered, if something happened to you.” 

Or to be more precise hoped, that she had miraculously fallen out of a malfunctioning airlock.

“Oh, how touching, that you were worried about me,” the waves on Sa’onserei’s dress became more agitated, darkening a few shades to grey, as she looked at him with a mocking smile on her lips. It seemed a storm was coming in. “I would have brought you caf as well, General, but I know you prefer that bitter swill you call tea.” 

“No need, as food and beverages in the meeting rooms are against First Order regulations.” 

“Nonsense, we could all use something warm to drink in an early morning meeting. And we are all adults here; I think we can refrain from spilling our drinks.” She gave out the cups without waiting for Hux’ answer, sliding one to his aide, as she sat down opposite the General. “Mitaka, this one is for you, I added an extra dash of cinnamon, as you prefer.” 

Noticing Hux’ disapproving glare, Mitaka promptly spilled some of his caf over his hand and on the table. He yelped and apologized nervously, Miss Brentiss helping him to wipe it up, but not before throwing an accusing look at Hux like a lioness defending her cub. Sometimes he really wondered how his aide made it through the snake pit that was the First Order Academy. 

He took a deep breath, trying to stay calm. He was resolved to remain cool as a death star, whatever his Co-Commander did today to provoke him. Any reaction would only show her that she got under his skin. And he refused to let her have any kind of advantage over him. Not after their little confrontation on her first day on his ship. 

The utter gall of the woman to throw his own words in his face and threaten him. It had taken him long minutes alone in that kriffing room in order to cool down his anger enough to leave. Anger and a spike of something else at the way she had touched her finger to his lips, something he did not even want to admit to himself. The fact alone that she was able to affect him so only fueled his ire at her. 

Sa’onserei did not even blink at the spectacle at the end of the table, scrolling through her datapad as if nothing had happened.  
“So, what is the first point on the agenda? Oh yes, shift schedules,” she frowned slightly. “Are you sure those are correct? I tried to align the bridge’s shifts and you have sixteen hour shifts…”

Mitaka seemed to have recovered, answering her calmly. ”We are at the moment operating under emergency shift schedule, since the bridge crew is down one third.”

“Okay, but then we can easily transfer some of my officers from the Evenfall. They have been to the Outer Rim countless times,” Sa’onserei gave her Co-Commander an inquiring look. 

“That won’t be necessary, “ Hux shook his head.  
As if he would want the Zi’daya on his bridge permanently. Fine, he would admit, they were proving to be a lot more competent, than he would have thought at first glance. But they were still as irritatingly loud and obnoxious as their Commander. For them to disrupt the long perfected effectiveness of his bridge? No. “My crew is quite capable of handling the extra work.” 

“You can’t expect the crew to properly function after pulling sixteen hour shifts back to back over weeks. What do you want to do if a real emergency pops up? We don’t know what we will encounter out there.”

“First Order regulations allow the use of stims in those cases,” Lieutenant Goran piped up helpfully, her dark eyes alert. 

“Stims?” His Co-Commander did not seem impressed. ”Our medics have found that the side effects more than outweigh the use of those. That is not a real solution.”

“The Order has been using them for years,” Hux knew himself that taking stims was not a perfect solution, he had spent more than one sleepless night trying in vain to get some rest after powering through a double shift. But sometimes it was necessary. Trust Sa’onserei with her bleeding heart to question every First Order directive. “For someone used to military life that is standard procedure.” 

“Well,” Sa’onserei threw an assessing glance at him. “Perhaps you should reconsider that. Documented long-time effects are heart failure and … impotence.”

She didn’t just go there… 

Ki’sheko quite unsuccessfully tried to hide his snort in his caf, his face turning red. 

“How flattering, that you are so concerned about my physical … well-being.” Hux put enough emphasis on the last word to make it suggestive. Two could play at this game after all.

To his immense satisfaction he had finally succeeded in shutting her up; blinking in surprise, a faint blush on her cheeks she murmured something that sounded suspiciously like “Not if you were the last man in the galaxy” in her datapad. 

Her dress changed colors again, the waves becoming even darker and more agitated. The stormy grey reminded him of Arkanis for a moment. 

“Still,” it was obvious his Co-Commander was not letting this go. Stars, she was like a dog with a bone, when she had set her mind on something. “Why not let us help? Our experience could be useful.”

The General was losing his patience, at this rate the meeting would drag on for hours and he had enough other important things to do.  
“Frankly, a Stardestroyer is not the place to experiment with untrained amateurs.” 

“Are you implying that my crew is not experienced enough for this work? We have flown countless missions to the Outer Rim.”

“Research missions.” Some kind of sea creature had appeared on her dress, circling in search of prey. Too big for a shark, probably a deadly naga, its fin cutting through the water. “The Finalizer has led the charge in nearly every First Order offensive in the last years. Do you have any real experience in space ship battle? In pursuing an enemy through several star systems? Bombardment of ground forces? I think not.” 

The Zi’daya’s eyes narrowed furiously. “Oh sorry, we don’t meet your lofty standards. I didn’t know extensive experience in galactic suppression and planetary destruction was a prerequisite for this mission,” her voice turned ice cold. “But then your expertise on that front is unmatched, isn’t it, General?”  
White hot anger burned through him at her words, making him forget his resolve to not let her provoke him. He was a general of the First Order, one of the most powerful men in the galaxy. How did that little Outer Rim chit dare judge him like that?

“You little hypocrite. Running around looking down on us, as if you have the moral high ground. What do you think is paying for your little planet’s riches, if not our wars?” 

Sa’onserei leaned over the table between them in agitation, her golden eyes blazing. 

“As if you leave us any other choice. Every supply demand hiding a subtle threat. How it must smart, that you can’t take it all without asking, putting us all under First Order rule.”

Hux leaned closer as well, his gloved hand hitting the table to emphasize his words. His gaze locked with hers in a heated struggle, completely oblivious of the other occupants in the room. 

“Believe me, if it was my decision, your planet would have become part of the First Order long ago. It might have taught you some much needed discipline. You could definitely use a firmer hand, Commander.”

“A firmer hand?” Her voice was full of defiance. “Oh, I bet you would just love to have me on my knees, General.”

Her last words sent a sudden vivid picture through his mind; her kneeling in front of him, his hand fisting in her pale hair as he…

Hux forcefully pushed the image away, disgusted with his own weakness.  
A trace of his thoughts must still have shown on his face, as Sa’onserei’s eyes widened in surprise. He could feel heat crawling up his face.  
“How dare you…”

Before he could chastise her, she pushed her chair back and jumped up. Cursing loudly in Zi’daya, she stormed out of the door. Shi’seko quickly followed her. 

The sudden silence in the room was nearly deafening, everyone trying to look anywhere else but him.

“That means “go space yourself” in Basic,” Khi’sheko explained helpfully. At Hux’ glare he quickly hid behind his datapad, murmuring “and I should probably not have translated it.” 

Selene tore through the Finalizer’s endless dark floors, hot anger quickening her steps. Stars, how she hated this kriffing ship. Nearly as much as its Commander.

In the last few days, she had enjoyed needling him, watching him struggle with his temper. His arrogance tempered into forced civility by her threat to complain to Pryde. Her little wager, that he would not dare go against his superior’s orders, had more than payed off. 

She clenched her teeth, remembering his condescending tone as he dismissed her and her crew as irrelevant civilians. As if the only competent people in the galaxy were to be found in the Order. 

Stuck-up imperial jerk.

While she might have had some second thoughts about Tay’s plan before, she now was looking forward to letting it play out. Oh, to see Armitage Hux’ face, when his beloved Stardestroyer was blown to smithereens around him.

A small voice in the back of her head reminded her that not everyone onboard the Finalizer was a bad person deserving such a fate.  
She tried to quiet it. It was not her fault, that they were working for the biggest asshole in the known galaxy.

How he had talked about her homeworld.

“If it was my decision, your planet would have become part of the First Order long ago.”

Only over her dead body.  
It had reminded her painfully, of what was at stake here. She would not let Ellesmee fall under First Order rule. 

Selene could hear Khendrik calling her name behind her, but ignored him. Time enough for him berating her back at the Evenfall. 

As she reached her ship, she made her way to the communal kitchen. She really needed a caf, having left her cup at the meeting room. 

“Already back,” Briseis greeted her with a surprised smile. “Meeting over so soon?”

Before she could answer her friend, Khendrik interrupted from the door. He must have ran part of the way here, his breathing slightly quicker than normal.

“Are you completely out of your mind now, Selene?” His face showed exasperation. ”What in the blazes of the galaxy were you thinking provoking him like that?”

“You were there, you heard what he said. Do you propose I just take that lying down?” Selene gave her protector an angry look. 

“Yes, after you needled him for days. If you poke a lion with a stick long enough it might bite back,” Khendrik shook his head in frustration. “Do I have to remind you what is at stake here? We need the Finalizer, if we want to solve these disappearances. Not to speak of your brother’s plan. At the rate you are going we will have to be thankful, if Hux is not throwing you out of an airlock at some point.”

“He wouldn’t dare.” 

“The man destroyed a whole star system. He had his own father killed. Do you really think he has any qualms about getting rid of anyone who opposes him?”

“No,” She was quite aware his reputation was well earned. ”But he can’t go against Pryde’s orders.”

“As long as he is serving Pryde, that is. This is quite a flimsy shield at best,” Khendrik gave her a solemn look. “We are seriously outnumbered here. I just don’t want you in danger.”

“So what do you want me to do? Apologize to him? I would rather kiss a Hutt,” groveling to that arrogant man was the last thing she would do. 

“I expect you to behave like a professional and find some common ground. Or do you want to tell the families of the missing people, that you just couldn’t swallow your pride long enough to help them?” 

“Khendrik!” Briseis voice was shocked, as she angrily began to berate her brother for his words.

Selene felt her cheeks heat up, as shame flooded her. As much as she hated to admit it, Khendrik was right. She had not thought for a second about her missing people or the mission.

No, she had let the thrill of going up against her Co-Commander overrule her common sense. She silently cursed her lack of control. And that after she had vowed to proof to everyone that she was not too reckless for this mission. 

Kriffing Hux and his strange ability to make her want to provoke him. 

“I am going to change.”  
Without waiting for an answer, she quickly made her way to her quarters, grabbing a simple, comfortable outfit of leggings and a tunic to change into. When she returned to the kitchen some time later, Shima and Elodia had just come back as well as Fayth, who had come in from the bridge. 

Wonderful, everyone present to tell her again, that she had been out of line. 

“Oh Selene, there you are. Nice of you to leave us all alone with an angry General Hux,” Shima gave her a sarcastic thumps up. 

Elodia gave him a look. “It wasn’t that bad. We actually went through the provisions list, everything is already onboard. Repairs on the B hangar are scheduled to be finished today, so we can finally leave tomorrow. Although we have not been able to set a final destination, as you were not there.” 

Which meant Selene would have to go to Hux’ office later to discuss it with him. And probably to apologize, as much as she hated it. So far, she had successfully avoided his lair of evil, but better do this in private, if she had to do it at all.

“Okay, could someone please explain, what exactly happened?” Fayth gave them all a confused look, having missed the start of the discussion. 

“Before or after Selene called Hux impotent and accused him of wanting her on her knees in the span of five minutes?” Shima grinned, again in a good mode, as he gave the juicy details of her fight with the General. 

Briseis gasped, her turquoise eyes widening. “What?” 

“You know what, since you all seem in agreement, I botched this up, I will spare you my presence,” Selene had quite enough of her friends berating her, even if they might be right. She needed some time alone.

Walking out of the Evenfall, she made her way through the hangar intend on busying herself with some maintenance work on the Tri-Wasps. At least those could not complain. 

“Wait up,” Briseis was jogging after her. She had grabbed a repair kit. “Peeta’s Tri-Wasp had a slight engine noise yesterday. We should check it up, just in case.”

Trust her friend to know just what she needed. 

They worked in silence for half an hour, before Briseis leaned over bumping her shoulder softly. ”Do you want to talk about it?”

“Not really,” Selene sighed. “You know it’s easy for Khendrik to say I should try to get along with Hux. He does not have to work with him.”

“And do you know what he said about the way we organize our supplies? … And about wearing jewelry during duty? …If I would drink a shot every time that man uses the word regulation or policy, I would be roaring drunk by lunchtime every day… Not that I give two bantha ticks, what he thinks about me professionally,” she concluded twenty minutes later, having detailed every encounter with the exasperating man. The two Zi’daya had in the meantime sat down on a small supply crate next the Tri-Wasp. 

“You know for not caring, you sure have a lot to say about it,” Briseis murmured, her eyes pensive. “I never saw you so worked up over anyone ever before.” 

“Because I have never met such a stuck-up, arrogant, evil, condescending, unfeeling jerk ever before.” Selene punctuated every word with the hydrospanner she was holding.

“Ah,” Briseis quickly took the hydrospanner away.” We still need that.” 

“Do you know he tried to intimidate me on my first day here? Caging me against a wall while ordering me to hold my tongue and just look pretty. The nerve.”  
“What?” Her blonde friend appeared quite worried at that. ”Did you tell Khendrik?”  
“Of course not, your brother would never let me leave the Evenfall ever again, if he knew. So don’t tell him. I am not afraid of Hux,” Selene could not help smiling at the memory. ”I dealt with it myself quite successfully.”

Briseid gave her a suspicious look. “Wait, are you actually enjoying this little tug of war you have going on with Hux?”

“Of course not, that would be crazy, wouldn’t it?” 

Selene laughed, but it sounded forced in her own ears. To be honest she did enjoy their little spats a lot more than she should. Every time his green eyes flashed at her in anger, she felt a surge of adrenaline course through her veins, daring her to do it again. The way they had heated up, when she had made that comment on kneeling…

She kind of wanted his control to snap again, like that first day. To prove that…to prove that he was human after all? That she could? Perhaps she did have a penchant for danger.  
“Alright, a tiny bit.”

“Selene,” Briseis eyes had turned serious, all traces of humor gone. “You realize, that there are bad ideas. Then there are very bad ideas. And then…”

Her friend saw something at the other end of the hangar moving. ”Oh, they are transferring the TIE-Fighters back to the B hangar. I always wanted to try out one of those. I saw a maneuver in one of the imperial manuals once. You can make a complete turn in midair if you put out the engine, while flipping the controls,” she got up and reached out a hand to the blonde. “Are you coming? We might try to hitch a ride.”

“There are your ideas,” Briseis sighed, as she grabbed her hand, letting her hoist her up. 

“Let’s move the complete second squad to the B hangar. I want this done before midday today so we still have time to set everything up there, before the Finalizer goes out tomorrow,”

Masir was just walking along the line of the TIE-Fighters, discussing ship movements with Major Javan, as he heard an unfamiliar female voice exclaiming in apparent enthusiasm.

“Oh stars, they even have a mag-pulse warhead launcher. Oh, and look at the additional laser cannons. Sweet.”

“See, I told you it was a good idea to come here,” a second voice commented rather smugly.

Turning around the corner to investigate, the captain was greeted by a rather surprising sight. Leaning over his TIE’s cockpit so far that she was practically laying on top of it, a small woman was stroking the ship’s hull in clear admiration. Her tight flight suit hugged slight but feminine curves in a way, that made him swallow hard. He must have made some kind of noise, because she sat up quickly, looking in his direction with wide blue eyes. 

A few tendrils of soft golden hair had come out of the bun on top of her head, framing a face so pretty, that his stomach flipped like onboard a TIE in a deep dive. 

Masir realized he had been staring at her for quite long without saying a word, mouth agape.

“You know, that might be the first time I am jealous of a ship. Wouldn’t say no to someone patting me so enthusiastically,” the words were out before he could think about them. Kriff, curse him and his big mouth. Way to make a first impression.

“Well, that depends,” intense blue eyes sparkling, she laughed at him mischievously, not shocked in the least. “You have something to compete with a warhead launcher?” 

Oh, he might just be in love…

“Captain Masir Trach, Wing Leader of the Finalizer,” Masir swiftly introduced himself, sticking out his hand. “At your service…,” he gave her an expectant look. 

“Major Briseis noe Shi’seko, Wing leader of the Zi’daya Research Fleet,” the Major’s handshake was firm. Her gaze turned apologetic. “Sorry, for just coming here unannounced, Captain. But we couldn’t help taking a look. Not many opportunities to see a TIE-Fighter up close on Ellesmee. This isn’t a standard TIE, isn’t?”

“No,” the Captain explained, pride seeping in his voice. ”We actually only employ TIE space superior fighters on the Finalizer. More firepower and capable of hyperspace jumps.”

“I knew it,” Masir had actually been so overwhelmed by Major Shi’seko he had forgotten her companion, that had been inspecting one of the TIE’s wings. “One of the most elite combat ships in the galaxy.” 

The blonde pointed her hand at the newcomer in introduction.  
“Commander Selene noe Sa’onserei. Selene meet Captain Trach, he is the Finalizer’s Wing leader.”

The Commander gave him a warm smile in greeting and shook his hand, a curious gleam in her catlike eyes. 

So, that was the notorious Zi’daya heir. Was every Zi’daya girl stunning, or what? He had always thought that to be only an exaggeration. 

Opan’s face had been a mixture of horror and unwilling amusement, as he had relayed the General’s and her interactions to him. Trust Hux to mess it up with his Co-Commander. The man knew bantha crap about how to treat a woman like that. 

Masir had been quite disappointed, that the full schedule of the last days had not allowed him to catch a glimpse of their Zi’daya passengers. Well, today made more than up for it so far.

He walked around the TIE with the two women and answered their questions, pointing out some specifics here and there. As they reached the cockpit and he explained the controls, the Commander gave him an assessing look. 

“This is a two-seater, isn’t it?” She led her fingers trail over the edge of the cockpit in thought. “So, if you move them to the B hangar it would be possible to give us a short demonstration in action? We always wanted to fly one of those.” She looked at him under her long lashes beseechingly. 

“Selene,” Major Shi’seko’s voice was cautionary. “We don’t want the Captain to get into trouble because of us.” Despite her words, she threw a longing look at the ship, obviously torn. 

Masir realized he was quite skillfully manipulated, but he couldn’t fight the temptation of spending some time alone with the alluring Major. 

“Well, as long as the General doesn’t find out. What Hux doesn’t know…”

Sa’onserei practically beamed at him at that. “Oh, I think I like you, Captain Trach.”

“Only a short detour while transferring, though. Give me a moment, ladies,” Masir went around the ship in search of his second in command. 

“Javan,” he grabbed the man by the arm dragging him along, “I need your help with something not exactly within regulations. And before you protest, I think I just met my future wife.”

Fifteen minutes later, they had two TIE’s out in space, the huge Stardestroyer a grey wall below them. Masir had cleared their departure as part of the TIE’s transfer with the flight control bridge. No need to point out that they had company. 

Major Shi’seko had let him help her into the gunner’s seat; the way her body had pressed into his in the tight space for a moment, had sent his heart rate sky-rocking, a soft gasp escaping him. She had given him a knowing look, but did not comment. 

“The B hangar is actually located on the starboard side. But we can take the long way around the rear. Let’s just stay clear of the command bridge.”

Masir accelerated the ship, letting the Finalizer fall away under them. As he went into a steep corkscrewer dive, the TIE rotating quickly around itself, his passenger laughed breathlessly.

“Kriff, that’s what I call acceleration. How much can she do?” The major actually sounded impressed.  
“4.400 G at top speed.” 

Fine, he might have been showing off a little. Better behave now, before they got caught. He stabilized the ship, slowing down considerably as they made their way back to the Finalizer. 

“So how did a guy like you end up on a Stardestroyer?” Shi’seko sounded genuinely curious. ”Pardon me, but you don’t seem to be the typical First Order officer. And that is definitely not an Imperial accent.” 

“You mean I am not a stiff, arrogant jerk?” that earned him another laugh. “No, I am actually from Galatea. Well, you know the story; I was young, reckless and needed the money. And then I ran into a First Order recruiter.” No need to burden her with a sob story of a childhood in poverty that ended with more than one conflict with the law in order to get by. 

“And how did you end up in the military? It is not a big thing on Ellesmee, if I remember correctly.”

“Family tradition, I guess. My grandfather and my father have both been part of the Zi’daya morning guard.” A sudden solemn tone in her voice told him there was a story there. “And yes, it is not common on Ellesmee, we are actually quite the pacifists. Until a few years ago, we did not even have a real starship fleet. One of our founder’s principles. But I always loved flying and it allowed me to stay with Selene, so here we are.”

“You have known her long?” the two women had appeared quite close. He should probably try to find out more, if he and Opan wanted to salvage the catastrophe the mission had been so far in regards of getting into the Zi’daya’s good graces. 

“All my life actually,” Shi’seko’s voice was warm. ”We have been best friends since we were both children.”

Before Masir could answer, something caught his eye. Javan’s TIE was accelerating in a quick dive quite close to the Finalizer’s defense turrets. 

Kriff, what was his second in command doing? He watched in horror as suddenly the other ship made a lurch, clearly out of control, bringing it dangerously close to the command bridge. As the TIE was barreling down, he already saw it go up in flames in his mind.

In the last second the TIE caught itself, swinging up again, close enough to the bridge’s main viewport, that Masir could see the main deflector shield light up. Not that it would have helped, if the TIE had really crashed into it at full speed. 

“Oh, blast!” Shi’seko’s voice was as shocked as he felt.

“Captain Trach, what is the meaning of this?” 

Just hearing General Hux’ furious voice over the comms, made Masir tense up nervously. He would be lucky, if this just ended with a trip to the Sanitation department. 

“This wasn’t Captain Trach’s fault,” Sa’onserei’s voice over the comms sounded more than a little breathless. ”I just wanted to try out one of the TIEs. I must have underestimated the acceleration…” 

“Commander Sa’onserei, I should have known…” The General clearly caught himself, his voice turning ice cold even over the comms’ speakers. “I am not interested in your excuses whatsoever. Return to the hangar immediately.”

Masir turned the TIE back in direction of the hangar, knowing any delay would only make it worse.

“Selene must have persuaded Major Javan to switch the controls to her at some point,”  
Shi’seko sounded quite angry herself. “Stars, sometimes I could kill that woman.”

“What?” As they entered back through the hangar’s entrance, the Captain saw that the General was already waiting for them, pacing up and down in obvious anger. Kriff, the man must have run here to beat them. “Hux is going to kill me.” 

“Don’t worry,” the major murmured, as they touched down. “Selene will tell him, that it was her idea and that you never agreed to let us fly ourselves.” 

“That might be true. But I should have never let you onboard of a TIE in the first place.” 

To his immense relief Javan’s ship had been just a bit faster on the return flight than they had been. Hux barely let his Co-Commander embark on her own before he grabbed her arm quite forcefully, dragging her off to the side. His ire was clearly focused on one person only at the moment. 

Masir saw Shi’seko’s face scrunch up in indecision, torn, if she should intervene, as they stood nervously next to his TIE watching the two of them. It might have been Hux’ intention to keep the dressing down of his Co-Commander somewhat private, but even from afar they could hear every other word of his angry tirade. 

“Out of your mind…reckless…endanger…no respect for me…”

The captain had actually never seen the General this angry ever before, not even after suffering a loss against the hated Resistance. His face nearly as red as his hair, he was gesturing wildly in front of Sa’onserei, who was scrutinizing the floor with an abashed look on her face. Masir had to marvel on her backbone, he had seen experienced officers quiver in much more terror at a lot less criticism from Hux.

After what felt like a small eternity, she looked up, obviously saying something to Hux, that quite miraculously seemed to make him calm down considerably. Afterwards they continued talking in a much more subdued way. Masir narrowed his eyes, something about it seemed strangely off though. 

“I can’t believe she just fluttered her lashes and got out of that one, for a moment I feared we would have an intergalactic act of homicide on our hands. I wouldn’t have thought Hux to be susceptible to something like that, to be honest,” Shi’seko’s voice held a definite note of relief, that she did not need to rescue her friend.

“We all have our weaknesses,” Masir answered, still more than a little shaken by what had happened. As unexpected as it seemed, the General obviously had a weak spot for his pretty Co-Commander. It made the man nearly appear human.  
“I will call this a lucky day, if we all get out of it unscathed, Major.”

“Oh, call me Briseis,” Shi’seko gave him a wide smile. ”I think after the shock we just had, we don’t need do stand on protocol anymore.” 

“Gladly,” as he clasped her shoulder in acquiescence, thinking that at least one thing went right today, he realized with a start what had caught his interest in the two Co-Commander’s behavior. 

When he had joined the First Order, coming from touch-friendly Galatea, one of the first things he had noticed was the literal distance everyone kept from each other. Not only did people not touch in the Order, except perhaps for medical reasons, no, they always kept out of each other’s space as if enclosed by some invisible bubble. 

Well mostly that was. For two people, who outwardly hated each other’s guts Hux and Sa’onserei stood awfully close while talking, their bodies nearly brushing. Masir shook his head in thought; he definitely had a lot of things to discuss with Opan. 

Armitage Hux stormed into his office, his anger still burning hotly after the embarrassing catastrophe that had been the morning meeting. Mitaka and Opan entered behind him, both slightly out of breath after trying to keep up with his quick, anger-fueled stride. 

“Find out more about that impossible woman. There has to be something besides rescuing dolphins and slaves that we can use against her.” 

He tore off his gloves, throwing them on top of his desk in frustration. To think, that he had planned to come to some sort of deal with the Zi’daya regarding their weapons. As if it was possible to deal with that impertinent little spitfire rationally. 

A rebel to the core. All defiance and wildness behind flashing golden eyes.

“There has to be some connection to the Resistance.”  
She was probably best friends with the likes of Dameron and that traitor FN-2187. He could easily imagine them together, laughing, as they made fun of him behind his back. 

He needed her of his ship, the sooner the better. 

“If you haven’t found anything so far, you just have to dig deeper. With that attitude there has to be someone, she has angered in the past, who is willing to spill her secrets. A disgruntled ex-lover perhaps.”

Mitaka and Opan exchanged a look.

“What?” It seemed his officers had something to say regarding the matter. 

“Permission to speak freely, sir?” Opan’s blue eyes were serious. 

Hux waved his hand in reluctant agreement; it was not often that Opan was so formal, when offering his opinion, so it was probably something he did not want to hear. 

“To what goal? Even if Commander Sa’onserei is a secret supporter of the Resistance it will most likely not change our orders. Frankly, she could meet every Tuesday for a round of Sabacc and tea with Organa herself and Pryde would still tell us we should sway her in the Order’s direction in order to get those weapons.”

The General stared at his subordinate in disbelief. “And you propose I just ignore how she ridiculed and challenged me in front of everybody?”

Opan held his ground. “As far as I remember you did nothing to deescalate that fight, sir. Belittling her experience and threatening her planet might not have been the best strategy.”

“Because she has been provoking me for days. Running around my ship in inappropriate attire, questioning my every decision.” 

If he was quite honest to himself, he knew he might have brought that behavior on himself. In hindsight, it had been a grave mistake to let his control slip that first day and try to intimidate her. It seemed that had been a challenge his Co-Commander could not ignore.

There was just something about her that made him leave all rational thought behind. Her open defiance sparked a strange urge in him to assert some kind of dominance over her. 

“She is everything I despise about kriffing civilians distilled into one hundred pounds of female evil. Impossible to work with. And her crew is not much better.”

“Actually our experience with the Zi’daya has been quite good so far. They have been incredible helpful with the Finalizer’s repairs and information regarding the Outer Rim, sir,” Mitaka was quick to point out, his dark eyes nervous at the thought of contradicting Hux. “And Commander Sa’onserei is getting on well with everybody. Mmmh, that means everybody…”

“Except me,” Wonderful, now even his own aide thought he was the problem here. Was everybody on this ship falling for those Zi’daya tricks? 

“Don’t be so naïve, Lieutenant. Nobody in the galaxy is so helpful without wanting something in return. Or did you think that pretty Miss Brentiss genuinely likes you and is not just interested in fishing for information? Sa’onserei probably put her up to it.” 

Mitaka swallowed hard, clearly hurt by the General’s words. Hands clenching around his datapad, he murmured. “Well, I will go and prepare tomorrow’s departure then, sir. I will sent all relevant information to you as soon as possible.”

He quickly left through the door to the anteroom of Hux’ office, that he used as the General’s aide, not even waiting to be dismissed. 

“Was that really necessary, Armitage?” Being one of a very select few that ever used his first name, Opan dropped protocol now that they were completely alone. 

“You know as well as I do, that there is something off with Miss Brentiss, Tritt,” Hux sat down at his desk, he had a feeling that his Informations officer had more to discuss than Mitaka’s burgeoning love life. “Better open his eyes now, before he fancies himself in love with the girl.”

Opan’s tone was pondering as he sat down opposite him. “I am already on the case of Miss Brentiss. Still, as surprising as it might be, I think that she really likes him.” 

His eyes turned questioning. “But back to your Co-Commander. I find it quite curious that her attitude changed so quickly. She did not seem so contrary at her arrival. Something must have brought that on.” 

One of the downsides of Opan being perhaps the best Informations officer in the fleet was that it was damn hard to keep anything from him. 

Hux looked away, feeling uncomfortably defensive for a moment. ”I might have tried to make clear to her who is in charge of this ship on the first day.” 

“Make clear to her?”

“Fine, I tried to intimidate her,” at Opan’s disbelieving stare, he bristled slightly. “Not that it impressed her much. She basically laughed in my face and threatened to complain to Pryde.”

The captain’s voice was carefully controlled. “And what, pray tell, should stop her now from doing exactly that to get rid of you?”

“She wouldn’t. That would be cheating,” if he knew one thing about Sa’onserei it was that she would never concede to him in that way. Running to Pryde for help was not her style. 

“Ah,” Opan raised an eyebrow. “Is that in the rules of the little game the two of you are playing? Good to know.” 

Hux sighed. “I suppose you want me to apologize and work amicably with her?”

“That is of course your decision, General,” Opan had always been a master of cloaking his criticism in well-chosen words. “Although I don’t want to end up with Peavey as Commander of this ship. And I don’t want the First Order to remain under Pryde’s and his lackey’s control.”  
He slid his datapad over the table to Hux.

”I was finally able to find out, why Pryde was calling in nearly the whole fleet. He is planning to seize complete control of the Core Worlds, dismantling all local military and replace it with his own men. Your fellow generals are probably clamoring for their rewards, as we speak.” 

“And with the Core Worlds’ riches under his directive, he will have titles and funds to spare. It will be nearly impossible to unseat him then.” Hux read the report with raising frustration. Kriff, he was backed into a corner here. “Is Ren aware that his Allegiant General is practically styling himself Imperator?”

“The Supreme Leader has not concerned himself with the everyday running of the Order for some time. He is again on a mission with his knights.”

Of course. And at some point Pryde would move against the fool. It was what he himself would do in his place. 

“We need the Zi’daya on our side,” as much as he hated it, it was his last desperate move to stop Pryde. 

“I will try to come to some agreement with Sa’onserei. Even apologize if necessary,” the concession tasted like ash in his mouth, but there was no way around it.  
“Even if I would prefer to just chuck her pretty little behind out of the nearest airlock.”

If anyone had told him before this mission, that he would look back at his time with Kylo Ren as Co-Commander in nostalgia. He might have actually preferred Ren’s childish tantrums; at least it had never been a challenge to counter them with the cold disdain they deserved. But then Ren had never been as allu…no annoying as Sa’onserei.

“So you did notice it is a pretty behind. Perhaps you can find some common ground after all.”

Before Hux could answer to that ridiculous observation, Opan leaned over to open another report.

“Pryde has also sent us a shuttle from the Steadfast. It seems they have found something on one of the abandoned ships. Two victims by the look of it. And he included an updated list of all missing First Order vessels.”

The General scrolled through the list with a frown. “That are a lot more ships than on the original report. At least thirty. And the times of disappearance are spaced out over more than three months. There is no way Pryde has just now received that information.” 

“He probably kept it from us on purpose, yes.”

Hux looked at Opan, deliberating his next move. He could probably use the information as an excuse to speak with Sa’onserei alone. The question was how much he should tell her about the conflict with Pryde. While it was quite clear, she held no love for the Order, he still had no idea, how she really stood in regards to the Allegiant General. 

“Bring the bodies into Medbay. Doctor Kline shall perform an autopsy as soon as possible.”

After Opan had left, Hux fiddled with his datapad in thought. He opened the file on Sa’onserei again. With a scoff, he realized that Mitaka had really included that Holonet article from the Galaxy Gossip. Against his better judgement, he skimmed over it, shaking his head in disbelief at the words.  
“As stunning as she is kind-hearted the gentle princess of the Zi’daya people has dedicated her life to helping those in need,” whoever wrote this had obviously never met the woman. 

“According to our sources the beautiful heiress has been seen getting quite cozy not only with dashing race pilot champion Zack Wanderbuilt but also sharing an intimate glass of wine with famous holo drama star Ulysses Daton, although neither man has been able to capture her heart.” The list of men that had allegedly caught Sa’onserei’s fancy was quite long and prestigious. 

What worthless trifle. The picture that accompanied the article caught his attention, though. Obviously taken at some ball, it was a much better representation of his Co-Commander. 

Wearing a dark red dress cut so provocatively, that it made the clothes she had worn on his ship so far appear conservative in comparison, she looked back over her shoulder at the viewer, her elegant spine nearly completely bare. A playful smile was on her full lips, while her catlike eyes held a challenging glint. 

Hux put down the datapad with a slight bang. He needed to clear his head. 

Getting up, he decided to go to the Command Bridge. The familiar efficiency there would help him think. 

As he looked out in the reassuring deep black of space through the main viewport ten minutes later, he could feel some of his equilibrium return. While his interactions with Sa’onserei had admittedly not been ideal, at least the Finalizer was repaired. He would just need to… 

The General’s eyes narrowed at two TIE’s flying out of the A hangar, their flight paths irregular. 

“Lieutenant Tosla, have those TIE-Fighters been cleared by flight control?” 

The Lieutenant quickly checked something on his screen.

“Yes, sir, Captain Trach is transferring the TIE’s back to the B hangar.”

Trach, Hux thought in annoyance, the man was incapable of doing things by the book. If he wasn’t the best pilot in the Order and a brilliant strategist on the fly, he would have demoted him ages ago. No amount of sanitation duty seemed to cure him of his unfortunate proclivity for insubordination. Proof of how important a structured Order regimen was in one’s early upbringing. 

He should get on splendidly with Sa’onserei, though. 

Suddenly one of the TIE’s made an uncontrolled lurch towards the bridge. People screamed as the vessel nearly collided with the main viewport, a last second maneuver only letting the main deflector shield light up. Hux could not blame them, his own heart hammering in his breast at the shock. While the shield was designed to keep off enemy fire, it would not have stopped the TIE from crashing into the bridge, sending it up in flames.

“Captain Trach, what is the meaning of this?” 

Hux had opened the direct comm’s link to the TIE’s, anger in his voice. Did Trach want to kill them all? 

“This wasn’t Captain Trach’s fault,” he would have recognized that melodious accent everywhere. What had she done now? ”I just wanted to try out one of the TIEs. I must have underestimated the acceleration…” 

“Commander Sa’onserei, I should have known…” the General tried to hold on to his composure in front of the crew, his voice turning even colder. “I am not interested in your excuses whatsoever. Return to the hangar immediately.”

Not waiting for an answer, he stormed out of the bridge, so furious that he was barely able to see where he was going.

That irresponsible, reckless …He was going to kill her. 

Arriving at the hangar, he paced up and down trying to calm himself down in vain.  
As the TIE with Sa’onserei touched down, Hux did not wait to hear what she had to say. He grabbed her arm, making her wince, her eyes wide. Damn him if he cared, she just nearly gotten them both and half the bridge crew killed with her little stunt. 

He remained in control enough to drag her off to the side, before he started screaming at her.

“Are you completely out of your mind? How can you be so kriffing reckless? You endangered the ship, you endangered the crew, you endangered yourself. What in the blazes of the universe where you thinking?”

The General half expected his Co-Commander to fire back at him, but even through the haze of his anger, he realized that she was unusual quiet, letting him rant at her without objection. Her gaze was trained on the floor in front of her. 

“But then you have no respect for me, no respect for anyone it seems. Let me guess. You just thought, you could do this without any training. Because you are just so full of yourself. Stars, do you have any idea what could have happened? Did you even stop one second to…”

“I am sorry,” Sa’onserei finally looked up at him with wide golden eyes under her long lashes. She was quite the sight, her bright hair partly undone, a flush to her high cheekbones and were those actually tears in her eyes?  
“You are completely right and I can only apologize for my irresponsible behavior.”

Hux was stopped short, shifting uncomfortably at her words. He had never been able to deal well with the sight of a woman’s tears. It awakened memories he rather kept buried. 

Green eyes so much like his own, welling up in pain, as warm arms closed around him. “Shhh, Armitage, we don’t want your father to hear.” Brendol Hux’ angry voice making him shutter in fear, before the sobs turned louder and more desperate. 

He had seen that desolate look again and again on more than one woman’s face, who had unwillingly caught his father’s attention. Brendol Hux had not been a man used to being denied anything he wanted. 

His father, a real paragon of First Order values. 

The General’s voice was a lot calmer, as he addressed his Co-Commander again.  
“Do you have any explanation for this? Was this just another way to provoke me?”

“No, I would never endanger anyone for something so trivial,” to her credit Sa’onserei appeared to be genuinely sorry. ”It was just…I have wanted to fly a TIE-Fighter for years now. And this is a space superior fighter. I mean wow, that is one of the best combat ships in the galaxy. I guess I just got carried away.” 

Despite the situation, her eyes glittered in remembered exhilaration. It struck him suddenly how young she still was, her joy in flying a new star fighter nearly childlike.  
Young and with quite a sheltered up bringing besides a few adventures here and there.  
Had he ever been so excitable? Perhaps as a very small boy. He could not remember.

Strange how he had never questioned how easily she hold her own against him, when much older and more experienced men and women had struggled to do so in the past. As incongruous as it seemed, he had immediately thought of her as an equal. 

“I know, I don’t have the best track record of thinking things through.”

“Really?” Hux raised an eyebrow. “I would have never noticed.” 

His tone must have shown her, that his anger had mostly cooled down, as she gave him a small smile.  
“I guess, if I was part of your crew, I would be doing double duty in punishment forever?”

“Commander, if you were part of my crew, you would have enough demerits to warrant a demotion every day before lunch. Not that I think that it would help disciplining you. There are limits to what even First Order regulations can achieve.”

“Mmmh,” she scoffed. ”I will take that as a compliment, I think.”

Hux looked around the hangar, as he tried to decide how to proceed. He noticed that Trach, Javan and Sa’onserei’s little friend were still hanging around the TIEs, watching them nervously. Probably afraid he would murder his Co-Commander on the spot. The news regarding Pryde a pressing matter in his head, he turned to her again. 

“I…” “Listen…”

They both started to speak at the same time. Hux motioned for her to continue. 

“Regarding this morning. I realized that I might have been somewhat out of line with my comments,” Sa’onserei murmured in an uncharacteristically low voice. It was clear, that she wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible.

“Was that supposed to be an apology?” realizing that she had probably been chastised by her crew the same way he had been by Opan, he nonetheless did not want to let her of the hook that easily. “I don’t think I am quite over that remark on impotence to be honest.”

“Really, that is the thing that bothered you most? Men,” Sa’onserei rolled her eyes. “Okay, I am really sorry for hurting your tender feelings. Although you were not that much better.”

Weapon system. Superior weapon system, the General repeated in his head, as he tried to keep a friendly tone. 

“Fine, I apologize for my behavior. Now, we should…” 

“We should probably start over.” Sa’onserei stuck her hand out at him. “In the spirit of the mission and all that.” 

“If you insist,” Hux pulled off his glove, humoring her. The quicker they got this over with, the quicker they could return to work. 

The touch of her skin to his sent an electric thrill through his body, his heartrate picking up considerably. His eyes had been on hers, so he saw them widen in a similar reaction.  
He let go of her hand immediately and cleared his throat. 

“I actually wanted to talk to you about something, Commander. The Allegiant General has sent a shuttle and news. Obviously, a missing ship with two victims onboard has been found. The bodies are currently in medbay. If you want to, we can go there together to see what the doctor has found out.”

Including her in the investigation should hopefully get her in a good mood. He needed to find out, if she knew anything more about this mission and Pryde’s plans.

Sa’onserei nodded, appearing a little surprised at his offer. “Gladly. Before, I would like to address one other topic. As ill-adviced as it has been, today’s events showed me how different our combat ships are. We should probably let the two Wing leaders come up with some ideas, how to combine both fleets and a training schedule. If not, we could be surprised in a combat situation.”

That was actually a valid point. The General looked over at Trach again. 

The Captain was standing next to Sa’onserei’s pilot friend obviously smiling and laughing, his posture cocky. Was the man flirting with her directly in the hangar?

“A good idea. Although that seems more like an undeserved reward for Captain Trach.” 

His Co-Commander gave him a pleading look. ”I was responsible for today’s events. Captain Trach and Major Javan were just too polite to gainsay a superior officer. Wouldn’t it be possible to let it go just this once?”

Oh, she did know how to use her charms, didn’t she?

“I know Trach well enough to be sure he did not need much prompting. But fine, just this once.”

After they had given their orders to the two relieved looking pilots, they made their way to the medbay. Hux realized suddenly, that for a change Sa’onserei was wearing quite sensible clothes, even if they were not an uniform. So she had dressed specifically to provoke him in their meetings. He refrained from commenting though, as he did not want to endanger their fragile ceasefire. 

Doctor Kline, a tall thin man in his fifties with a somber countenance, greeted them with a frown on his face. He handed the General a datapad, leading them through the currently empty medbay to a door at the back. 

“There is something quite unusual about this case.” 

The two bodies had been laid out on two operating tables, several droids whizzing about as they performed the necessary tests. Hux stepped closer, not in the least bothered by the presence of the dead. He saw Sa’onserei take a deep breath before she followed. 

“Cause of death has been heart failure in both cases. Although there are signs of multiple organ failure. Especially the lungs are curious, the only other time I have seen burns like that, has been on people who have been out on ice planets without protective gear.” 

The General leaned closer to scrutinize the bodies. Even he had to admit that the sight was quite gruesome. Both victims’ skin had turned dry and brittle like yellow paper. Faces torn in a rictus of pain and fear they appeared ancient, not like young soldiers in their prime as their file indicated. 

“Nearly complete loss of all fluids. It is as if they have undergone a speeded up mummification process.” 

“Who were they?” His Co-Commander looked at him, her voice betraying clear compassion for their fate. 

Hux checked the datapad. “A Lieutenant Higgins, 25 years of age, and a Stormtrooper TZ-3245, nineteen years old. They were onboard of a shuttle transporting additional equipment to an Outer Rim base. Last confirmed contact three weeks ago. Then the ship turned up four days ago, cargo intact but without the crew. Safe those two, of course. ”

“So young…” Sa’onserei swallowed hard. “Did you find anything else? There was no distress signal?”

“No nothing, although I would have preferred to examine the ship myself.”

His Co-Commander threw a thoughtful glance at him at that, before she turned to the Doctor. “Doctor Kline, did you do an age determination?”

The Doctor appeared confused by that. “Well, we already identified the victims…”

“Do the test,” Hux ordered. As the doctor left the room for the necessary equipment, he turned to the Zi’daya. “A hunch?”

“Perhaps,” she said. “I suspect Pryde has kept the ship at the Steadfast?”

Making a decision regarding how much to tell her, he handed her the datapad after opening the list of missing ships. 

“It seems, that has been not the only thing he has been keeping back.” He watched her closely, as she went through the list. Her surprise seemed genuine to him. “Anything else you know?”

“We only received one distress signal. Just a lot of static and the words “cold” and “darkness”. I can sent you the original. It is in Zi’daya, though.” 

“A failure of life support? But why did everyone vanish then? And it does not explain this.”  
Hux touched one finger to one of the victim’s arms. He could feel the brittle skin for a second, before a strange intense feeling of cold washed through him.  
He shivered. It reminded him of something. He had felt this before. 

“Everything alright?” Sa’onserei looked at him with something like concern in her eyes.

“Yes, just an unpleasant memory,” He had remembered where exactly he had felt such a coldness the last time. In Snoke’s throne room. Strange. 

“This isn’t some kind of internal First Order mess, isn’t it? “ His Co-Commander’s voice turned suspicious. “My people have not been caught up in an attempt to get rid of an inconvenient rival?”

“So, you do know that I …,” the General trailed off unsure what to call the situation. 

“Have fallen out of favor,” she raised an eyebrow. ”Yes, that is an open secret. The question is how far.”

“Quite far, I fear. You are correct in your assumption, that Pryde wants to get rid of me. But I think he relies more on the typical. Withholding information and supply in order to make me fail. As far as I know he has not hidden some kind of secret weapon.”  
He had decided that telling her this would be no news, if she really was on Pryde’s side. 

The way Sa’onserei frowned at his words indicated the opposite, though. “Well that is inconvenient, as I am quite adamant to not let this mission fail.”

“You could save yourself some trouble and complain about me.”  
It was perhaps not the wisest move to point out that option, but better see her reaction now, than have her stab him in the back later. And part of him wanted to know, why she didn’t.

“And be settled with this idiot Peavey? I don’t fancy him staring at my ass at every meeting, thank you,” there was a teasing note in her voice. “Besides, I think you are starting to grow on me, General.” 

Selene watched as a slight half smile tugged on Hux’ lips at her words. Not for the first time in their surprisingly – would wonders never cease – civil discussion. She wondered what it would take to coax a real smile or even a laugh out of him. 

Her Co-Commander was clearly not aware of it, but his mad dash to the hangar earlier had loosened the strict confines he put on his hair, making a few red locks fall onto his forehead in disarray. The slightly disheveled look was surprisingly good on him. Or the fact that he wasn’t scowling at her all the time, his intense green eyes a lot softer. Not that she noticed.

She had been quite surprised, that he had let her off so easily. Blast it, she could curse herself for today’s events. To be honest, she had been really shocked by her near brush with death. She had been lucky that nobody had been hurt or worse. She really had to control her impulses better… and apologize to Captain Trach and Major Javan. They probably had the shock of a lifetime. 

The two dead bodies in the room made her more than a little uneasy. Was that how all the missing people had ended up? It seemed a gruesome death.  
Selene threw another look at Hux, who seemed completely unaffected, while he checked the droids’ results. Well at least the last minutes had explained, why he had been so lenient earlier. 

Her Co-Commander needed allies desperately. He could just not afford to alienate her completely. While he was frustratingly capable in schooling his features into an unemotional mask, she had caught a calculating gleam in his eyes here and there. He was up to something. 

Selene thought back to her discussion with Tay before the mission. Perhaps she could use this to her advantage. 

“You know the Doctor reminds me of my old instructor in Rhea’s teachings. All somber and disapproving. Stars, that woman hated me.”

“I would have thought as royalty you would have gotten preferential treatment,” Hux looked surprised. 

She laughed. “Then you don’t know the Zi’daya. Besides, I was a pest as a child. Completely reckless and wild,” she had to compliment him on his restraint. He did not comment, just threw a very sarcastic look at her. It seemed he was really dedicated to this whole peacekeeping thing between them. “I got into a lot of trouble. Well, before I learned to get out of it with a smile and fluttering my lashes. Then I got into a different sort of trouble.” 

The General narrowed his eyes in suspicion. “Wait, did you use your womanly wiles on me earlier?”

Who used that expression anymore? Selene looked away feeling caught. She might have overplayed her distress a little bit, yes. 

Hux scoffed in apparent annoyance. “I don’t like being manipulated, Commander.”

“And I don’t like being threatened, General,” even after their truce, she had not forgotten his words regarding her planet. 

“Fair enough. Don’t worry though, you are quite safe from my conquering impulses at the moment,” there was a definite glint in his eyes at those words. If she didn’t know better, she would have thought that to be a suggestive comment. 

“I am safe?” she couldn’t help answering in kind.

“Your planet, of course,” another one of these half smiles played around his full lips. She began to wonder how far she could take this. She had promised Tay to fish for information after all.

And…it might be interesting to see his reaction. 

Selene stepped closer to her Co-Commander, as if interested in the same droid read-outs he was studying. He looked up at her sudden proximity, surprise on his face. She leaned in a little closer, his height making her look up at him under her lashes. 

“As for your question, believe me, Hux, if I ever use my womanly wiles on you, you will know,“ the sudden thrill through her body at how close they were, made her words come out much more breathless than intended. 

She saw his eyes widen, before they flashed with a sudden wild heat. This close she could see, they were a clear sea foam green, speckled with grey and blue flecks. They reminded her of Ellesmee bay on a cold winter day. Her heartbeat sped up, as he stared at her as if transfixed. 

The door opened with a whizz, making them both nearly jump back a foot. 

“You were correct,“ the returning Doctor Kline said quite sullenly, completely unaware he had interrupted something. “There is an anomaly in the samples.”

Selene looked at the doctor’s findings, trying to find her composure again. What in the blazes of the galaxy had this just been? For a moment, it had felt like… In horror, she banished the thought before it could form. The adrenaline from the botched flight must have messed with her head. 

“The age determination comes to a result of more than one hundred years of age. That is obviously incorrect. But bone density is severely off. It is as if they have been drained of…” Doctor Kline clearly did not know how to call it.

“Their life force?” Hux took the results, outwardly as composed as ever, although there was a hint of color on his normally pale cheekbones. “Thank you, doctor, that would be all,” he dismissed the other man. 

When they were alone again, he raised an eyebrow at her. “Well, it seems the case is solved. Must have been some giant life sucking bats from space.”

Selene could not help a disbelieving laugh escape her. “Was that …a joke?”

The General scoffed. “Whatever you may think, I am not completely without a sense of humor, Commander. Any theories?”

Trust Hux to make jokes about something so gruesome. Selene shrugged.  
“A new weapon?”

“Mmh, I don’t have any idea how you could achieve something like that, but you never know what people come up with,” his green eyes turned thoughtful. “Quite efficient, if you could eliminate the crew without destroying a ship.”

And just when she had thought he had a human side. 

“A parasite? A virus?” Selene gave the bodies an uncomfortable look, as she realized what she had said. 

“All tests negative so far. And don’t worry the bodies have been thoroughly decontaminated before they were brought here.” 

“Well then we actually can’t rule out a different life form that likes to snack on humans. One which at least our level of technical advancement if not more.”

Before Hux could answer her, his comms gave out a distinctive ping. “I have to take that,” he murmured, taking a few steps to the side for some privacy. 

Selene felt a deep unease well up inside her as she pondered today’s news. Was there really an unknown, evil race of aliens out there that had taken their ships? 

Her eyes wandered to her Co-Commander, who seemed to be in some kind of discussion with Captain Opan about another message from Pryde.  
Pryde…she began to wonder what game that man was playing. Hux seemed to be quite sure he was not responsible for the disappearances, but she was still undecided. 

What brought her back to the General. She would have never thought so this morning, but working with him had turned out to be surprisingly productive and nearly pleasant after they had put their differences aside. Perhaps there were a lot worse people to go on a potential dangerous mission with than Armitage Hux.

Hux ended his call and turned back to her, his face grave. “Pryde sent word of another disappearance. We lost contact with the Victorinox in the Outer Rim as of five days ago.”

“What kind of ship is that? How many were onboard?” 

“A dreadnought. With a crew of around 150.000,” the General’s voice sounded disbelieving. “This wasn’t some space pirates or smugglers.”

Seeing that he seemed unusual shaken, she refrained from commenting that she had told him so days ago. 

“You know the ship?” 

“Yes, I served on her as a Lieutenant many years ago. One of my first postings,” Hux drove a hand through his hair, messing it up even more. “Captain Orea is an exemplary commander. I can’t imagine what happened.”

Selene felt a twinge of sympathy at his obvious distress. So there were some kind of feelings in his black heart after all. Even if they were just for his fellow officers. 

Her gaze was caught by the two bodies in the room again. 150.000 people. She couldn’t help a shudder. “Whoever or whatever is out there had no problem dealing with a battle ship. You know what that means.”

The General’ eyes met her’s, the same frightening realization in them she just had.

“Yes, the hunter could easily become the hunted."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I made Hux quote Gossip Girl ;-)
> 
> We will see how long these two can keep their peace now danger is coming closer...


	4. ...a fire might start

It is said that one should keep one’s allies within view, and one’s enemies within reach. 

Thrawn - Grand Admiral of the Empire

Outer Rim – The Finalizer

Sitting in his office after his customary morning inspection of the command bridge Armitage Hux used the quiet time before the morning meeting with the Zi’daya to go through the various reports that had piled up.

The Zi’daya. 

His decision to include Sa’onserei in yesterday’s investigation at the medbay had turned out to be much more successful than he had ever anticipated. It really was a pity that his Co-Commander had such a wild, undisciplined personality or he would actually have thought her an asset on this mission. There was no denying, that she had a brilliant mind. 

They had gotten along surprisingly well, after agreeing to work together. While they both could not help the occasional barb here and there, the tone had changed considerably turning to something quite akin to teasing. There had even been a moment or two, a playful glint in those golden eyes, her body nearly brushing his, that with anybody else he would have called perilously close to flirting. 

In the privacy of his own office Hux could reluctantly admit to himself that he was much more physical aware of his beautiful Co-Commander than he would have liked. A disconcerting weakness that Sa’onserei had no doubt caught on to. What she hoped to achieve remained a mystery, after all, he was already under orders to help her. He would not put it past her that she was just trying to get a reaction out of him, though. 

A sudden commotion in the anteroom to his office made him look up from this datapad. The melodious voice belonging to the very object of his current thoughts was coming through the office door. His Co-Commander was talking to Mitaka, asking, if he was in.  
Before he could collect himself, she was through the door, two cups in her hands and thankfully again in a remotely sensible outfit of a red blouse and black trousers. 

“Good morning Hux,” her smile was bright and cheerful, obviously the last day’s revelations had not disturbed her rest. Not waiting for his invitation, Sa’onserei let herself fall in the chair opposite from his and pushed one of the cups in his direction, before taking a sip from her own.

“Commander,” the General greeted her slowly. “Do what do I owe this visit?”

“I brought you tea,” she said, gesturing to his cup, as if it explained everything. ”Please tell me, tarine tea is correct. I spent quite some time preparing it,” she scrunched her nose up. 

She made him tea. Hux could only stare at the cup, as if it was a dangerous animal waiting to bite him.

“I fought the temptation to poison it, don’t worry,” there was again that damnable teasing tone in her voice.

When he still did not make a move to drink the tea, she gave him an exasperated look. “Paranoid much?” Sa’onserei picked up the cup herself, her eyes full of amusement as she gazed at him over the rim, taking a very careful sip of the still steaming beverage. 

She shuddered delicately. “Uugh, I hope it is supposed to taste like that. I followed the instructions very closely.”

As if in a trance, he finally took the drink from her, scrupulously avoiding that their fingers touched. His kriffing brain instead caught on the way she had put her lips to the same cup he was now drinking from, the strange intimacy of that fact making heat flush through his body. 

Trying to hide his reaction, he took a large sip of the tea, breathing in the distinctive bitter aroma. Oh, this was more than good. Nothing like the subpar quality the First Order provided. As much as he hated to admit it, their tea suppliers were just abysmal.

After another sip, he closed his eyes for a moment, a soft sigh escaping him. It had been some time since he had tarine tea that good. It tasted as if…

“Is that actually tea from Lothar?” he asked opening his eyes again.

Sa’onserei was staring at him with a very peculiar expression on her face, her mouth slightly open in surprise. When she realized that he had asked her something, she blinked, a faint blush appearing on her cheekbones. 

“Yes, exactly,” she played with the end of her braid in an uncharacteristically nervous way. “We have a very nice tea shop in Ellesmee. It was what the owner recommended. I can sent a batch to your quarters, if you like. A little peace offering after yesterday.”

For one pathetic moment, he allowed himself the illusion that she felt the same frustrating pull he felt. Then her words registered. Even in the Core worlds, Lothal tea was expensive enough that he reserved it for special occasions, a cherished indulgence. There was no way she had procured something like that without some hidden agenda. He was a kriffing fool to think anything else.

“And what else do you want?” his anger at her obvious attempt to manipulate him made his question sound harsher than necessary. 

“I thought it would be a good idea to discuss a few things in private before the morning meeting. We could make this a regular thing,” ignoring his tone, Sa’onserei looked around his office. “So this is your little lair,” she raised an eyebrow at the wall decorated with a First Order flag and the shelves full of military awards. “Cozy. I love the personal touches.”

“My lair?” Hux scoffed at her sarcasm, unsure how he felt about the idea of her coming here every morning. For the sake of the mission, it made sense though. 

“I set course to the last known location of the Victorinox, as we discussed. We should arrive there in the course of the day,” time to get back to the important topics. 

“What were they doing in the Outer Rim?” 

Oh, she wouldn’t like his answer.

“There have been indications that Rattatak is secretly supporting the Resistance. The Victorinox was sent there to investigate and initiate the necessary counter measures.”

“Ah, I see, another one of your disciplinary missions,” his Co-Commander’s voice had turned distinctively colder, disapproval in her expressive eyes. 

“There is one possibility we failed to discuss yesterday,” her judgmental tone made him want to get under her skin a little. “It might have been the Resistance who has attacked our ships.”

“The Resistance would never…” Sa’onserei barely caught herself, her voice carefully controlled. “It is very unlikely that the Resistance has access to a previously unknown weapon. They simply lack the necessary funds. Additionally they are not known for attacking neutral parties.”

Neutral, my ass, Hux thought. If he was sure of one thing, than that the woman in front of him was at least sympathizing with Organa, if not secretly supplying her herself. The Zi’daya were such obvious Resistance supporters that he wondered again, why Pryde had never moved against them. 

Still it was correct, that Organa would never destroy her allies’ ships. 

“I have been thinking,” clearly his Co-Commander was eager to change the topic. “I could take over some duties from you. Lighten your workload a little. After all I am your Co-Commander.” 

Seeing the look on his face, her eyes narrowed slightly. “Or do you think that I’m not competent enough?”

“That’s not it. I…” Hux searched for the right words to explain his reluctance on the matter. He just loathed the thought of not having everything going on onboard the ship under his control.

“I can sent you a summary of all decisions every evening for you to approve,” Sa’onserei seemed to grasp his problem without him saying more. “And don’t fret; the Command Bridge is all yours. Perhaps just maintenance and supply. And definitely shift schedules. Someone sensible definitely should have a look at those.” 

That was actually a workable proposal. He turned the datapad in her direction. 

“Let’s have a look…”

Masir sat down next to a, frustratingly put together looking, if one considered the time of day, Tritt Opan, nodding at the other man in greeting. 

“I have to confess I am more than a little curious about this legendary morning meeting,” Opan had already told him all the juicy details of the last meeting and he wondered how Hux and Sa’onserei would interact after yesterday’s events. 

“Oh, you can be. A holo drama is nothing against this,” Lanzora Goran rolled her eyes in exasperated amusement, her comment making nearly everyone else on the table laugh. 

Masir had always liked petite, dark-haired Goran. Under the typical prim First Order veneer, she was one of the most kind-hearted people he knew. Only Tosla made a disapproving face, but then the Lieutenant of Communications had always had a stick up his ass.

To his delight the Zi’daya arrived next, Briseis greeting him with a touch to his arm and a cheerful “Good morning, Masir,” as she sat down next to him. 

Opan raised his eyebrow at him in curiosity, before he turned to the two Zi’daya captains introducing them to him. 

Captain Shi’seko… he felt an unease swoop in his stomach. Hopefully a relative and nothing else. He thought he could see some resemblance to Briseis in the aquiline nose and the bow of his mouth, but that could of course be wishful thinking. 

He had more than enjoyed working together on the flight maneuvers with the pretty Zi’daya major yesterday. In fact it had been quite hard to concentrate on the task at hand, as they had sat down on a supply crate, bending over his datapad. This close to her he had been distracted constantly by her scent, something light and floral reminding him of lavender. 

Despite his preoccupation with the Major herself, they had managed to work out a very successful solution using both combat ships’ strengths. Actually, he found the light Tri-Wasps with their great maneuverability quite interesting, although it came at a cost of their firepower. 

The door swished open again revealing a slightly hectic looking Mitaka. Making his way to an open seat next to Miss Brentiss, he gave the room’s occupants an apologetic shrug. 

“Sorry for the delay, the General and Commander Sa’onserei are still discussing some topics in his office, they will join us shortly.”

“In his office? You mean alone?” Captain Shi’seko sat up straighter, alarm in his voice.

“Don’t worry, we have both an excellent Medbay and very thorough cleaning droids at the Finalizer,” Opan commented in one of his surprising flashes of black humor. 

“I think they are really just discussing some things. They made up yesterday after the incident with the TIE’s. She apologized to him,” Briseis leaned over him to look at the First Order captain. 

Khi’seko whistled in surprise. “Selene apologized? You are sure those two words belong into the same sentence?” That made all the Zi’daya in the room exchange some knowing looks. 

“Wait, what incident with the TIE’s?” Shi’seko narrowed his eyes in suspicion at Briseis, clearly not knowing yet what stunt his charge had pulled yesterday. 

At her wide-eyed look, Masir smoothly interjected.  
“Just a minor problem, while testing out the TIE’s together.” 

“Minor problem? She nearly blew up the Command Bridge,“ trust Tosla to bring it up in such a crass way.

Shi’seko buried his hand in his face, his desperation so palpable that Goran next to him felt compelled to awkwardly pat his shoulder in sympathy.  
“I can’t leave her alone for one kriffing second.”

“I have a theory about it you know,” Khi’sheko scratched his chin in thought. “I think it has something to do with brain waves. Hers are just wired differently. While normal people see something dangerous and think ‘Oh, I should get away.’ in her case it is more like ‘Oh, that could be fun.” 

Briseis sighed next to him. “Shima, really…”

A melodious laugh was the only warning before the door to the room opened again, revealing a brightly smiling Sa’onserei next to Hux in his black general’s uniform. 

“Please, everyone knows that the most impressive use of TIE-Fighters in a space battle was at Batonn.” 

“Really, Commander,” while the tone of Hux’ voice was cool as usually, his eyes were trained on his Co-Commander in obvious interest. ”Such open admiration for imperial battle prowess? I would have thought you more partial to some flyboy’s reckless stunt turning the tide in a fight. Surely you grew up loving stories about Skywalker destroying the imperial death star.”

Masir was surprised when instead of firing up at the insinuation that she was sympathizing with the Resistance, Sa’onserei just gave Hux a playful smile as if amused by his attempt to throw her. 

“Oh, you are so wrong, General. I would choose Grand Admiral Thrawn over the likes of Skywalker any day. The best military strategist there ever was, in my opinion. I even had a holoposter of him on my bedroom wall at one point.”

Hux barked out a laugh in surprise at her response, sitting down at the table. “Blue skinned and red-eyed?”

“How shallow. I always preferred brains over brawn,” golden eyes still fixated on her Co-Commander the Zi’daya sat down directly next to him. 

After a few seconds, she looked up, obviously surprised for a moment that there were other people in the room.  
“Oh yes, have you already started with the meeting?” 

Masir realized that he and everyone else had been staring in complete disbelief at the two.  
He quickly opened the flight data.  
“We just wanted to have a look at possible flight formations…” 

“Okay, anyone going to mention the veermok in the room?”  
Two hours later Masir turned to his fellow officers and the Zi’daya after leaving the room following the most bizarre meeting he ever had since joining the Order.

The tone between the two Co-Commanders had fluctuated so wildly between carefully polite, biting and of all things teasing that he had felt whiplash. The only constant the underlying tension in the air that nearly seemed to sizzle with electricity as their eyes barely left each other. 

“What in the blazes of the universe is going on with those two?”

Caught up in a deep discussion about some obscure properties of the Finalizer’s ion engines, Hux and Sa’onserei had not even looked up as everyone else had left, Sa’onserei repeatedly hammering on the datapad to drive some point home as Hux was shaking his head. 

“They are both people with a strong personality. There were bound to be some …frictions.” Shi’seko was clearly trying to describe it diplomatically. 

Khi’sheko clasped the other Zi’daya’s shoulder with a laugh. “I think the words you are searching for, my friend, are intense sexual tension.”

“What?” The horror on Shi’seko’s face was nearly comical. He stared back at the room’s door obviously ready to go back any second.

“Shima is only joking,” Briseis gave Masir and Khi’sheko a hard look that seemed to indicate that they should let the topic go. ”Don’t worry, brother, she still hates him with the passion of a thousand suns. And that’s a direct quote.” She took Shi’seko’s arm and dragged him down the corridor. “Besides, she is a grown woman and surely doesn’t need a chaperon.”

Brother… well that cleared that topic up. Masir could not help a relieved grin, although that brought new obstacles with it. He had a feeling Captain Shi’seko would not be amused, if some First Order officer tried to get cozy with his sister. 

“So Captain Trach,” Khi’sheko gave him an assessing stare. ”You are obviously a reasonable fellow. You wouldn’t know where we could have some fun on this ship? We were at that thing you call an Officer’s lounge yesterday evening and that was just depressing.”

The Galatean laughed. ”Stars no, that is just for official occasions. Actually you are lucky as today is a Thursday…”

Mitaka, who had been walking in front of him with Miss Brentiss, turned around eagerly.  
“Oh, you think we can bring them to holo night?”  
“I see no reason why not,” Masir had to smile at the exuberant way Mitaka beamed at Miss Brentiss and explained holo night to her. Clearly he was not the only one, who was more than a little fascinated with their Zi’daya allies.  
“Although it is bring your own booze. We are a little down on reserves after that time in Jiaan.” 

Khi’sheko clapped his hands enthusiastically.  
“No problem, you are definitely dealing with the right people. We smuggled something in with the supply run and don’t worry we calculated generously.”

As he watched the Zi’daya leave for their ship after telling them at what time they would pick them up, Masir could not help follow Briseis tempting figure with his eyes.

“I fear, I am the only one here thinking with his brain anymore,” Opan had stepped up next to him, his eyes holding a slightly concerned look.

“Why so negative, Tritt? I thought you would be glad, that Hux is finally making headway with Sa’onserei. Who would have thought that there is a girl out there who actually likes discussing old imperial battle strategy and engine properties with him. Don’t jinx it.”

“You forget that just yesterday they were at each other’s throats.” 

“Mmh,” Masir raised a suggestive eyebrow.” You know what they say; there is a very fine line between hate and love.” 

Opan did not look convinced. ”Perhaps. But the Zi’daya did not hold Pryde at bay with just a few alluring smiles. They are more cunning than it would appear and Sa’onserei is not the kind of person to forget that the Order remains a threat to her planet. It would be unwise to underestimate her.”

His fellow officer shrugged. “And? I am sure Hux is aware of that. He is probably the most cunning person in the galaxy.”

The blue-eyed captain shook his head. “He is more susceptible to Sa’onserei’s charms than I would have anticipated.”

Masir laughed. “Is that your way of saying our General is quite obviously fantasizing about bending his Co-Commander over his desk? As frightening as it seems Hux does have some human weaknesses after all. The question is why we should be concerned, if he gets laid or not.”

“We might have made a very basic mistake. While it is clear, that we do need the Zi’daya on our side against Pryde, we failed to take into account that they may have ulterior motives of their own. The questions is why should Sa’onserei be that eager to help us?”

Briseis leaned into the door of the small office Selene used onboard the Evenfall. Her friend was already in a comfortable blue sweater, her white hair falling in soft open waves around her shoulders, while she was working on something on her datapad. 

“You are sure you don’t want to come with us?” it was nearly time for the First Order officers to pick them up for holo night. 

“No, I want to finish a few things here for Hux and then I have to talk with Tay. He left me a message that he was able to find out something regarding the disappearances.” Selene only looked up for a second before concentrating on her datapad again. “Besides you know the First Order guys, having me there as one of the Commanders will only make them uncomfortable.”

“Mmm a pity, seems that you can only go for drinks with Hux then,” Briseis said casually, watching her friend closely for a reaction. 

Instead of vehemently pointing out that would be the last thing in the galaxy she would ever do, Selene looked up with a strangely soft look in her eyes, her fingers twirling one lock of her hair absentmindedly. “Oh, he still owes me a drink. Should remind him of that on occasion.”

Her face not showing her surprise at that answer, Briseis left the room after a quick goodbye. 

Blast, so she had been right earlier. 

Being friends with each other so long meant that she was aware of all of the other woman’s tells. She might deny it, if she ever asked her outright, kriff, she was probably denying it to herself at the moment but one thing was clear: as shocking as it seemed, Selene was attracted to General Hux. 

Or perhaps not so shocking after all. 

Hux was a good-looking man and what was even more important one of the few that could keep up with Selene both in terms of intellect and force of personality. That he was more than a little dangerous clearly only added to the allure in Selene’s case. The only problem was that he was the enemy. This had the potential to end very, very badly. 

Briseis wished she could be sure that her friend would be reasonable enough not to cross that particular line, but then sensible decision-making had never been one of Selene’s strong points. 

Although she was probably not much better. As she left the Evenfall, her stomach made a little somersault at the view of Captain Trach leaning against the ship’s hull next to an excitedly bouncing Mitaka. Who would have thought the Order had their own brand of flyboys? With his dark locks, not even tamed by the short regulations cut and a wide smile that showed his dimples, Masir looked good enough to eat. The top buttons of his uniform jacket were open exposing light brown skin quite daringly for First Order standards. Nearly as daring as the way he leaned close to her in welcome, letting his lips trail over her cheek, his hazel eyes warm.  
A pleasant scent of sandalwood and man tickled her nose. 

Oh, how easy it would be to just give in to his not so subtle hints and let the handsome captain distract her from her unrequited feelings for her childhood friend. 

She had to remind herself constantly that it would be a very bad idea to do so, after all they were planning to blow up his ship.

When she looked around, her gaze collided with her brother’s. His disapproving face told her, that he had finally caught on to the fact that she had a First Order admirer. She quickly linked her arm with the captain and turned in the direction of the hangar entrance, intend on avoiding any comment. 

“Oh, wait up a second,” hurried steps announced Elodia, dressed in a form fitting, light blue dress. It seemed her friend was bringing out the big guns. And quite successfully, if Mitaka’s amazed stare was any indication. Briseis herself had opted for a far more comfortable but still pretty combination of a turquoise shirt and white trousers, that brought out the color of her eyes. 

She suddenly realized that they were quite a lot of people, at least thirty crew members from the Zi’daya side had joined them.

“Has Shima told the whole ship? Where is he by the way?”

“No problem, the more, the merrier,” Masir grinned. “He already went ahead, getting the drinks.”

When they arrived at the big meeting room, the First Order crew had obviously converted into something like a cinema the blonde pilot was quite impressed. There was a big holo screen at one wall and the dimmed lights made the atmosphere nearly cozy. 

Masir turned to the Zi’daya with an inviting swipe of his arm.  
“Welcome to holo night. Just two important rules. No rank tonight and what happens at holo night stays at holo night.”

As they made their way to the makeshift bar, Shima and Fayth had set up, Briseis asked the First Order captain. “Are you doing this regularly?”

“Twice a week. Every Thursday and Sunday. There isn’t so much to do on a Stardestroyer outside the shifts. Actually, there are a few more all over the ship. But this is the original. It was Tank’s and my idea,“ Masir gave a wave to a real giant of a man standing at the entrance of the room. 

The captain’s eyes widened as he took in the mass of bottles arranged behind the two Zi’daya.  
“How did you get that onboard?” 

“Easy. We just let Selene approve it as Co-Commander and put it all in a storage room. Or two.” Shima grinned. ”What do you want? We have Terenian craft beer, Solei summer wine, Corellian brandy and some kind of cherry liquor that looks deadly.” 

Taking two glasses and a bottle of wine for her and Masir, Briseis shook her head in admonishment. “Really Shima, what if you get caught?”

He just winked, unimpressed. “Then I am sure Selene will be able to hash it out with Hux.” 

The room had filled up by now, the First Order crewmembers outnumbering the Zi’daya two to one. Briseis led Masir to two chairs as far away as possible from Khendrik. He would surely chastise her soon enough. 

“What are we watching?” Peeta called out.

“Well, we were just in the middle of the fifth rerun of ‘Flying high’. Captain Tarras has just been demoted and thrown into the brig for insubordination,” a young blonde guy, dressed in the black regulations shirt of the stormtroopers piped up. 

“ ’Flying high’, but that is so outdated.” 

“We don’t have free access to the holo net. We can only get the older dramas on file,” Masir explained. 

Shima took out his datapad, scrolling quickly.  
“No problem let me handle that. Oh, I might have just the right one, if you liked ‘Flying high’.” He looked up with a devilish grin. “The general and the rebel princess.” 

Briseis immediately tried to intervene. “I don’t know, if that is a good idea.” 

But he had already started playing it, the familiar starting scenes and melody appearing on the holo screen.

Having seen all episodes previously with Selene and Elodia, Briseis instead used the time to look around the room. To her amusement, all the First Order crewmembers seemed quite transfixed, completely concentrated on the screen. 

“Wow, this is really popular with you guys,” she remarked to Masir, taking a sip of her wine. 

“As I said, not much to do on a Stardestroyer…and it has been some time since we have seen something new,” his eyes narrowed in thought, as he watched the screen quite concentrated himself. “You know this seems strangely familiar.”

Briseis could imagine what had caught his curiosity. So far the heroine, feisty rebel princess Thea, had been captured by the fictive Rollerian Empire in form of the stern and imposing General Larkas. Right this moment the princess was confronting the General, her white dress flowing around her dramatically, after he had threatened her home planet.

Two more episodes in, the obvious tension between the two protagonists, had culminated into a passionate kiss. The blonde stormtrooper gasped loudly in surprise. “No, way!” 

“Oi Pip, what did you think why it is called ‘The General and the rebel princess’”, one of his fellow stormtroopers laughed. 

Briseis noted with not much surprise, that by now Elodia’s head was laying quite comfortably on Lieutenant Mitaka’s shoulder. Stars, if her friend leaned any closer, she would end up on his lap. She had actually asked her earlier what was going on between them, but the former assassin had only giggled with a dreamy look on her face. It made her wonder, if she had forgotten that they were on a mission. 

“Mmh, I can’t shake the feeling I have seen this before,” Masir murmured next to her. 

“It could be taken right out of the morning meeting,” dark-haired Goran said, looking uncomfortable as everyone stared at her in surprise. 

“You are right.” Shima’s voice was a little too innocent. “Only so far our dear Co-Commander’s haven’t…”

“Please, as if that isn’t just a matter of time. Have you been there this morning? I felt as if we should better leave the room a few times,” one of the First Order technicians commented. 

“And have you heard how they call each other by rank in that teasing way? That is definitely not how those two words are normally pronounced.”

“I had guard duty in the corridor to Hux’ office this morning. And let me tell you the Commander looked quite flushed when they left the room.” 

As nearly everyone in the room added his personal opinion on the matter, Briseis sat up in alarm. Uh oh, that wasn’t good. 

Unfortunately Shima was completely in his element, his eyes twinkling as he waved his datapad.  
“If that doesn’t call for a little wager.” 

“Shima,” Khendrik interrupted him sternly. “Don’t you dare…” 

“Well count me in, twenty credits on yes. And four weeks,” she could see the surprise on Masir’s face as Opan next to him called out a wager.  
“Is that a good idea?” he asked him. 

Opan just shrugged, completely calm. “Morals are at an all-time low after Jiaan and the news of the Victorinox. The crew needs something to cheer them up.” 

The fact that the prim Informations officer joined in on the fun worked as a catalysator; more and more people putting down a bet. 

Shima avidly noted down names and numbers on his datapad, his cheeks flushed with excitement. “And Khendrik, what are you saying?”

“No, of course, Selene isn’t that irresponsible,” Khendrik shook his head in disapproval. ”Five credits.”

“Wow, five credits, that’s what I call confidence in our leader,” the Zidaya’s second in command grinned at Briseis. ”And you, my dear? As Selene’s oldest girlfriend you should know best, if she will give in to the temptation,” he waggled his eyebrows suggestively. 

As everyone stared at her, eagerly awaiting her answer, Briseis could have cursed the man for putting her in the spotlight like that. Well, here went nothing. 

“Yes, two weeks tops, forty credits,” her answer predictably let to a collective sound of excitement. 

That arrogant lieutenant Tosla from the morning meeting, however, gave a derisive snort. “As if that would be a surprise. Everyone knows that the Zi’daya are…” He trailed of, suddenly realizing that half of the people present would probably see whatever he wanted to say next as an insult. 

“Everyone knows that the Zi’daya are what?” Kara noe Be’amara, one of her fellow pilots, got up from her seat her eyes fixed on the young First Order officer. Oh, that was bound to become interesting, Kara certainly not known for her restraint.

When Tosla remained silent, clearly at a loss what to say, she stepped closer to him, her dark eyes flashing. “Loth-cat got your tongue, Lieutenant?”

The pilot leaned her head to the side as if in deep thought, the pink highlights in her brown hair catching the light. “Funny. You know what I heard about you First Order guys? They inject you with some stuff every morning that basically makes you eunuchs. Any truth to that?”

“What?” Pale eyes wide, Tosla sputtered in outrage. “Of course not!” 

Kara trailed a finger along the lapels of his uniform. “Really? Care to prove that?”

As the whole room exploded in hoots and catcalls, Masir turned to Briseis with a smirk.  
“I think Tosla might be quite grateful tonight that all officers have separate rooms on the Finalizer.”

“Is that so? Interesting,” she asked innocently, as if not knowing quite well, what he was playing at. 

“Mmh,” his smile turned cheeky. “You should see the Captain’s quarters. Big, comfy bed and really nice shower.” 

Briseis leaned closer to him, her breath caressing his ear in a whisper. “Do you really think I will make it that easy for you?”

A soft shudder went through him. “No, but a man can’t help trying,” he murmured, giving her a sideways glance full of promises. 

She just could not fight the temptation to play this particular game anymore. 

“Well, Captain Trach, then keep trying,” the blonde pilot bent forward again, this time adding more than a hint of teeth to her caress. Masir groaned at the sensation, his body jerking so violently that he would have let go of his glass, if she had not caught it in reflex, a satisfied laugh on her face at his reaction. 

Well she had only said she had more sense than Selene and Elodia, that didn’t mean she was completely reasonable. She was Zi’daya after all. 

AN-3478, or Tank as he was called by those close to him, frowned in disapproval at two of this squad members standing in front of him at the entrance to the holo night room. 

“We are very sorry, sergeant,” fair-haired FN-3377 ‘Meg’ murmured. “If we had known the General was standing practically directly behind us, we would have never…”  
“You should not have broken the rules regardless, if there was a chance of getting caught,” he interrupted her. “You are lucky he only reported you to Captain Fallon and didn’t punish you himself.”

“Lucky?” slim and dark-eyed TN-7750 ‘Lyra’ complained. “We got two weeks of double duty for just putting off our helmets for one little second.”

“Yes, lucky. I should ban you from holo night for your behavior.” 

“Oh no, please, ” both young woman gave him a pleading look.

“Fine,” he relented, making them cheer, “but stay away from that Zi’daya pilot.”

He had barely finished the sentence, when Masir turned up with a least thirty of the Zi’daya the aforementioned blonde pilot among them.  
It seemed his Galatean friend had invited the Zi’daya to holo night. Wonderful. 

“Hey, did you listen to me?” his two stormtroopers were already waving at the newcomers. 

“Yes, sir, don’t worry, we won’t get caught again.” Lyra smiled, before vanishing in the direction of the Zi’daya. 

“Leave them to their fun, sir. Who knows how long they will be alive to enjoy a little trouble,” face solemn as ever KN-9373 ‘Happy’ said in a mournful tone. “If the giant life sucking bats who got the Victorinox won’t kill us, it will be the Resistance or Kylo Ren.” 

“Are there really giant life sucking bats?” ZN-7785 ‘Pip’ asked in a nervous voice. Blonde and blue eyed he had been just transferred to the Finalizer before Batuu and this was his first mission. 

“Of course not,” Tank said, herding his troopers to some seats in the middle of the room. 

“How do you know that?” Happy asked sullenly. “After all everyone who encountered them is dead. I wonder what is more painful though. The bats or being force choked to death by Kylo Ren.”

“I doubt Kylo Ren will force choke every single crew member of the Finalizer, even if he is displeased with the General,” Tank commented. “And now enjoy the holo drama.”

Luckily it was a new one tonight, thanks to the Zi’daya. He did not think he could have stomached one more rerun of ‘Flying high’.

After the first episodes, the sergeant made his way to the bar, Happy passing him a glass of a rose-colored drink.  
He made a face at the taste, never having developed a liking for wine.

“Not your thing?” A voice commented. “Here try a bottle of that.”  
Before he could answer, a bottle of beer was pressed into his hand. He took a long swallow. 

“Better?” the bronze-skinned man behind the bar gave him a warm smile. “There is nothing like a good cold beer. Never had a thing for wine either.” 

“Is this Zidan beer? It’s really good.”

“Yes, brewed on Terenia. Name is Fayth by the way.” 

“AN-3478, although most people call me Tank.”

The Zi’daya looked him up and down with a grin. “I wonder why.”  
He frowned at a sudden commotion in the middle of the room. “What is Shima up to?” 

“Hey, sergeant,” Brown hair a little disheveled, KN-9373 ‘Clics’ turned up next to him. “Everyone is betting if the General will hook up with that Zi’daya commander. I mean Hux is a cold one for sure, but damn that woman is seriously hot.”

Happy shook his head, grey eyes grave. “That would be breaking the rules big time. No way.”

“You know him from way back, don’t you, Tank?” Pip asked, curiosity bright in his blue eyes. “What do you think?”

Yes, he knew Armitage Hux much longer than most, being one of the original Stormtroopers born on Jakku. His thoughts wandering back to days nearly twenty five years ago, he absentmindedly touched the place on his ribs where a small scar remained.

It had been General Hux who gave him that scar, on some desolate little planet in the unknown regions, that his father had used for training purposes. 

He must have been around thirteen then, Hux one or two years younger. He could nearly feel the heat of the burning sun on his skin, the red sand of the local desert reaching endlessly in every direction. 

A game Brendol Hux had said. To see, if his son could keep up with the young stormtroopers.  
A chase. For his son to a red flag placed miles away in the desert sand. For them to catch him. They were not to kill him. 

Although the desperate way Armitage Hux had swiped a small knife at him, its cut burning over his rips, had told him that his father might have neglected to mention that to him.  
He had obviously tried to sell his life as costly as possible, leaving two of Tank’s fellow cadets dead and three more in the medbay. 

But after three days the chase had finally come to an end, the red flag behind Tank as far away as a different planet for a boy who could barely stand, his fair skin badly burned. He had snarled at Tank then, his teeth painted red by blood. 

“Listen,” his own voice had been nearly a whisper after so many days without enough food and water. “we can both get out of this, if we play this right.”  
Something like hope had burned up in those expressive green eyes. 

How foolish of them both to think that they had not been under constant surveillance. 

The screams coming from Commander Hux’ tent that night had kept him awake until the morning. 

It seemed that neither his time with the Hutts nor with Brendol Hux had been completely able to cure him of the unfortunate emotion of pity. 

“In the end, we are all human,” he said to his squad in the present, trying to shake off the memory. 

The sergeant looked around realizing that normally temperate holonight was quickly escalating to a quite raunchy party. He would need to reign in his troopers soon, if he did not want to deal with a few headaches tomorrow. Bending over Pip he quickly confiscated a deadly looking bottle of spirits. “Wine and beer only, boys. We have a shift near the command bridge tomorrow morning.”

Lieutenant Tosla did not seem to be so sensible, being caught up with the fiery Zi’daya girl he clashed with earlier, in some sort of drinking game over a similar bottle. The generous amount missing in the bottle as well as the high color on his face seemed to indicate that he had already lost a few times.

“Careful there, Tosla,” Captain Khi’sheko called out. “Once you go Zi’daya there is no turning back.” 

Tank watched in something between bemusement and disbelief as the normally stiff lieutenant let the laughing Zi’daya pilot persuade him to slurp his next shot out of her bellybutton instead of using a glass. 

The sergeant raised an eyebrow at Fayth behind the bar. “Is he going to survive the night?”

“Doubtful. Be’amara is a wild one. But there are a lot worse ways to go out.”

As he looked into glittering brown eyes, Tank couldn’t help but agree. 

Sitting on her small bunk bed on the Evenfall, Selene was just finishing the review of the fuel calculations, as her comms blinked, signaling an incoming call from her brother. 

“Tay,” she greeted him, a smile on her face as his familiar features appeared in front of her. 

“Sister,” her brother smiled back in welcome. “How are you? You look tired. It is already quite late on your side, isn’t?”

“Yes, but don’t worry I was still working,” she raised her arms over her head stretching. ”We still haven’t found a trace of this missing First Order dreadnought. You said you might have found something out?”

“Mmh, yes. You know I always had a penchant for history. I thought it could be a good idea to find out if anything like that has ever happened before.”

“And has it?”

“I found a very old list of missing ships, more than one hundred to be accurate. Same kind of reports we have. No crew left, the ships abandoned. And now comes the interesting part. Guess how old this list is? Exactly 640 years.”

“Wait,” Selene frowned at the holo screen. ”Isn’t that the year Rhea left the Core Worlds in search for a better life?”

“Exactly.” Tay’s eyes shone with the passion of research. ”It gets more curious though. I had a look at the republic’s citizen numbers. There has been an unexplainable drop of more than twenty billion in that year. When I checked the senate list before and after that year I realized there were three whole starsystems less without any explanation.” 

Selene sensed a cold feeling of dread in her stomach. “Wasn’t there some kind of war that prompted Rhea’s defection? Some kind of conflict with a Sith?”

“That is what they say, yes. But the documents are curiously empty of a name. Just a reference to an intergalactic conflict.” 

“The Jedi must have had some archives of that time where we can find out more.”

“Oh sure they had, the only little problem is that they have all been destroyed in the last five years.” Tay leaned forward, his face tense. “By none other than the Supreme Leader Snoke and the First Order.” 

It could just be a coincidence, Selene thought. 

“Now, there was obviously one digital backup for all the archives at the New Republic building on Hosnian Prime. But we know what happened to that.” 

Or it wasn’t…She suddenly remembered Hux’ strange reaction at the medbay. She couldn’t shake the feeling there was a connection there. 

“I will try to find out more at the archives the Shepherd keeps at Rheas’s chapel.” Tay made a face. 

Selene had avoided the capel of her ancestor in the last years, the Shepherd always asking when he would finally be able to conduct her marriage ceremony. No better way than that to lift a single woman’s spirits. 

“Believe me. You have my full sympathy.”

Her brother laughed. 

“I am also following another lead. Some old drawings from the lost civilization of the Gann. The merchant wants more credits than I care to pay for them, but it might be worth it.” His golden eyes narrowed on her. “Speaking of credits. Care to explain why I had to send this wickedly expensive tea up to the ship in a rush before you left?” 

“No,” she answered. “but rest assured that it has been for the sake of the mission.”

Although that had not been why she did it, she really wanted to apologize for her behavior yesterday. 

It had been worth every credit, though.

The way Hux had enjoyed his tea with closed eyes and a soft sigh, his face relaxed for once and surprisingly long ginger lashes touching his cheeks, had tugged at some part of her heart that she would rather not acknowledge. 

As had the fact, that he clearly had not known how to deal with the simple kindness, his suspicions immediately raised. It was painfully obvious, that it must have been years ago that somebody had done something for him without some ulterior motive. If ever. 

“Fine, keep your little secrets. How is working with Hux turning out by the way?” Tax gave her a curious look.

“As expected,” she kept her voice carefully neutral. “You know those First Order types, all cold efficiency and military precision. It might take some time until I am able to fish for information. Everything should proceed as planned, though.” 

“Good. I will let you sleep then.” Tay gave her a solemn nod. “If I have news, I will call.”

Selene ended the call and let herself fall back on her bed, deep in thought. 

She had just lied to her brother. But then, how could she explain the confusing mess her feelings for her Co-Commander were? Ruthless First Order general, who had no qualms to threaten her, in one moment and brilliant engineer, who had a surprising sense of humor, in the next. She had never met a man who challenged her on so many levels.

Her mind returned to the exhausted look on Hux’ face this morning. Now she had seen his daily workload, she was not surprised. It was a wonder he ever found time to sleep.

With his schedule, she suspected he only got by with a generous amount of stims every day.  
It had prompted her to assign some of his meetings to herself. It wouldn’t help, if he collapsed when they were in a dangerous situation. 

Perhaps she should check, if he really went to bed, as she intended.  
Before she could question her real motivation, she had reached for her comms again calling him. 

Finally laying on his bed after another long day Hux was absentmindedly scratching a softly purring Millicent while going through some last documents on his datapad before sleeping. A low pinging noise made him grab for his comms. 

Sa’onserei. What did she want at such a time?

“Good evening, General,” her melodious voice was soft in his ear as he answered the call. “Why did you switch to audio only? Am I disturbing you?”

“Commander, you may have noticed the late hour. I have already readied myself for bed and it would be highly improper…”

“Ts, as if you aren’t wearing some prim First Order standard issue to bed, surely all black,” he heard some rustling on her side and then her voice turned downright mischievous. “Or are you sleeping in the nude?”

The question made him nearly splutter in shock. “Of course not…damn it Sa’onserei, if you can’t stay professional I will end this call.”

“Fine, fine, I will behave, don’t get all worked up. Actually, I am ready for bed as well. I just wanted to tell you that I sent you today’s list for approval and to make sure that you go to bed at a reasonable hour for once. I didn’t clear your schedule for nothing.” 

Hux narrowed his eyes at her comment. “Why did you do that?”

Her voice turned soft again. “You looked exhausted. I thought it would be good, if you could get some sleep.” Hearing the nearly caring tone of her voice, while laying in his bed was strangely intimate, he thought. “I will do those meetings tomorrow. Don’t worry only the topics we agreed on.” 

She gave a little laugh. “After all I need you at your best, when we find the life sucking giant bats.”

“So far there has been no sign of the Victorinox,” the fact was eating at him. How could a complete First Order battle ship just vanish without a trace?

“I know. Hopefully we will have more luck tomorrow, ” Sa’onserei’s voice was hesitant. ”If there is nothing else I will let you sleep.” 

“Just one more thing,” Hux felt a strange hesitation to end the call as well. “I caught one of your pilots chatting up two of my Stormtroopers today. He had talked them into putting off their helmets.”

“Which one?”

“A tall one with blonde locks. Ti’shava or something.”

Sa’onserei seemed deeply amused. “Well, then you can be glad, that he only talked them out of their helmets. Peeta has always been a ladies’ man.”

“I do hope that you did impress on your crew that such behavior is not acceptable. Regulation 321b clearly states that fraternization with allied forces is not permissible.” 

“Of course not,” she scoffed. ”What do you think will happen, if I forbid it? It will only spurn them on. It would be like letting a fox in a hen house and tell it, it should only look at the chickens.”

Did she just likened his crew to chickens?

“Are you telling me your crew is incapable of adhering to one simple rule?”

“That particular one? Yes,” her voice turned teasing again, nearly a whisper in his ear.  
“Come on, Hux, did you never felt tempted by something forbidden? Did you never wanted to do something despite knowing that it was so, so wrong?” 

Right this kriffing second, if he was honest. He suddenly wondered what she was wearing to bed. No doubt something impractical and lacy. 

“No, I do possess something called self-control,” he managed to ground out. Even if it was challenged daily, since she sat foot on his ship.

“How admirable,” her voice turned mocking. “And how utterly, utterly boring.”

That made him bristle. ”Well, I wouldn’t expect someone who dated the likes of Zack Wanderbuilt to understand the concept.” 

His words made her spurt out in laughter so loud, that she obviously could not speak for a moment.  
“Zack Wanderbuilt? Have you been reading the Galaxy Gossip, General?”

Hux could feel his cheeks heat up. ”Of course not. I mean, there might have been an article in your file…”

“I see. Well, I do have to disappoint you. I had only one dinner with Mister Wanderbuilt and that was one of the most abysmal dates I ever had. The man is incapable of talking about anything else than himself. The Galaxy Gossip just loves to put my name next to any prominent guy, who has been in my vicinity. I thought it was awful after I was outed at university but after that most sought-after bachelorette article it only got worse.”

That list in the article had after all only been gossip. Not that he cared about Sa’onserei’s love life. Something else caught his interest, though. 

“You were outed?”

“Yes, I kind of studied under a different name for security reasons. Until…” she hesitated for a moment. “Someone sold the information to the news.”

“Someone you trusted?”

“Yes,” she didn’t elaborate, but the tone of her voice indicated a painful memory. So there was a disgruntled ex-lover in her past after all.

Hux had been so concentrated on his call with Sa’onserei, that he must have forgotten to keep petting Millicent. Feeling neglected she promptly made her displeasure known by biting one of his fingers hard, her claws scratching over his hand.

“Oouch,” he couldn’t keep from yelping in pain. ”Millicent stop that.” He quickly sat the misbehaving feline on the ground next to his bed. 

“Millicent?” there was a distinctively sharp tone to his Co-Commanders voice. “You should have told me you are not alone Hux.”

“No, I am alone.” He gave his maltreated hand a mournful look. “Millicent is my cat.”

There was a very long silence on the other side of the comms. When Sa’onserei was speaking again it was with a clear disbelief in her voice. ”Your cat? You keep a cat on a Stardestroyer?”

“Yes, what of it? She has been with me for more than five years now. I can’t just leave her somewhere planetside to fend for herself,” the General could not help feel a little defensive at the topic. 

His Co-Commander made a small understanding noise. ”No, of course not. I actually love cats. What does she look like? Where did you get her?”

“She is a ginger tabby,” that made Sa’onserei giggle in obvious amusement. “I found her shortly after I had become Commander of the Finalizer. We were doing an inspection on one of the bases in the Unknown regions. I had just stepped out for some fresh air, when I heard her. Some of the cadets on the base found it funny to nail her tail to a wooden palisade, watching as she tried to get free in vain.” 

He could remember the scene as if it had been yesterday, his anger still burning white hot at the memory. Millicent had badly scratched him that day as well, when he tried to free her. But she had quickly calmed down, as he had carried her to the medbay under his coat, already softly purring when they arrived. Some instinct must have told her he meant her no harm.

“Since she was obviously in danger there, I decided it was better to take her with me.”

“What happened to those cadets?” Sa’onserei asked.

“Sanitation duty for as long as they remained there and a posting at one of the most desolate stations I could find after. As far as I know they are still there.”

“Good,” the Zidaya’s voice held a lot of satisfaction. She was silent for a very long moment afterwards before taking a deep breath. 

“Why do you keep doing this?”

“Doing what?” he was at a loss what she meant. Did she want to know why he had saved the cat? He had just explained that. 

“This would be a lot easier, if you weren’t so damn confusing,” her voice held a slightly disgruntled tone. She sighed. “Doesn’t matter. Promise me to go to sleep now, Hux.” 

“Fine, I will. Goodnight Commander.” He was confusing? If anything, he had completely given up on ever understanding her. 

“Goodnight.”

Her melodious voice remained in his head quite a while, even after he had dimmed the lights to sleep as he had promised her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks everone for the comments and kudos so far.
> 
> If you like the story please leave a kudos or a little comment. It is what keeps us author's going.
> 
> So who is your favorite of the Zi'daya Crew so far? And of the Finalizer?
> 
> Perhaps the two favourites or that would be too easy ;-)


	5. It's never just cake

“No-one is a lonely star. We are all connected through the tapestry of the universe.”  
Rhea noe Sa’onserei – First Shue of Ellesmee

“Someone should show that arrogant Zi’daya bitch her place.”

A familiar sneering voice stopped Armitage Hux short on his way to his office. Deciding to investigate, he slowed down, following the sound, the next words making hot anger burn through him. 

“What she needs is a good hard tumble to show her the might of the First Order,“ a salacious laugh. ”Do you think, Hux is actually fucking her in all those little private meetings?” 

A sharp turn around a corner brought him face to face with Captain Peavey and his two lieutenants, all three men with lewd smiles on their faces as they discussed his Co-Commander.

“Captain Peavey,” the General managed to keep his voice cold and admonishing. “Do you think this is the way a First Order officer talks about the Commander of allied forces?”

Peavey’s little beady eyes widened a little at being caught, but he did not apologize immediately, as Hux would have expected. The older man had become more and more insolent in the last week, complaining loudly about the fact that Hux had allowed the Zi’daya to help out on the Finalizer. Obviously, he felt quite secure with Pryde’s backing. 

“Higgs, Merras, dismissed,” at the General’s curt words, the two lieutenants quickly scrambled away. 

Hux stepped closer to the rotund Captain and gave him a razor sharp smile. 

“Let me make one thing clear, Captain Peavey. You may think you can get away with something like this. But the Allegiant General is quite far away. And I don’t think he will weep many tears, if something happens to you. An unfortunate accident for example.” 

Peavey blanched, making an involuntary step backwards, his eyes darting along the corridor as if searching for an escape route. When he realized he had let Hux intimidate him, he narrowed his eyes though, his voice turning to vitriol.  
“That may be, General. But how long do you think the Allegiant General will watch contently as you fail to bring in any results?” 

Before Hux could answer, he scurried away, surprisingly fast for a man of his stature. 

Hux looked after him in thought. For all his blustering, Peavey was a coward. Something must have given him enough courage to be so openly insubordinate. 

He slowly resumed his walk to his office. It was true that the disappearances remained a mystery. Even after over a week of combing the Outer Rim, they had found no sign at all of the Victorinox. Only a small Zi’daya freighter, empty as all the other ships before. 

As for making the Zi’daya deliver them weapons…  
His relationship with his Co-Commander remained complicated to say the least. 

There had been more than one moment, where he sincerely regretted letting her convince him to allow her crew on his bridge. As he had feared they had disrupted the quiet efficiency, he was accustomed to, quite violently. 

Yesterday he had caught one of her Navigations lieutenants softly singing as she worked on her station. When he had admonished her for it, she had just raised an eyebrow at him asking him where the harm in it was. Obviously, it was acceptable in the Zi’daya military to talk back to one’s superior. Not to mention what had happened this morning with Tosla…

While he rationally knew that on a ship of the size of the Finalizer the small Zi’daya contingent should not even stick out, they somehow seemed to be everywhere. He got the feeling they miraculously multiplied every time he turned around. Bringing with them their loud laughs, their singing, their garish clothes and their overall disorder. And where one of the Zi’daya was, promptly a whole gaggle of his own crew would turn up. 

It was as if they wanted to be corrupted by the Zi’daya ways. Years of rigorous training just falling to the wayside like nothing. 

In a fit of despair, he might have even doodled some schematics. If there were 150 Zi’daya and 60.000 crewmembers of the First Order how long would it take, until every Order member had contact with one of them?

At the rate, this was going he would need to send the whole ship to reconditioning after the mission. 

Stepping into the anteroom of his office the General stopped in surprise at seeing his aide.  
“Lieutenant Mitaka!” his voice cracked through the small room like a whip. “Are you eating a chocolate cake?”

Mitaka stared at him in horror, his cheeks full of cake like some overgrown rodent.  
“I don’t have to tell you, that chocolate is prohibited on First Order vessels. Where did you even get it?”

Mitaka swallowed quickly, his eyes wide. “In the cantina. Commander Sa’onserei had some chocolate from Ellesmee brought up before we left. She gave the cooks some old family recipe…” 

But of course. Who else but the Zi’daya could be responsible for this? 

“Well,” Hux made a shooing motion at Mitaka. “Go to the Cantina and confiscate it then.”  
When the Lieutenant gave his remaining cake a sad look, he glared at him. “And don’t you dare finish that slice.” 

He stormed into his office, activating his comms to call Sa’onserei. When she did not reply, he sent her a short message. “My office, now!”

Sitting down at his desk, as he waited for his Co-Commander to arrive, he could not help a thrill of anticipation through his veins. While they had found a way to work productively together and their morning meetings, her still making him tea every time, had turned into a surprisingly pleasant way to start his day, there were enough times where they clashed violently. 

In most cases, their spats ended with Sa’onserei storming out of the room calling him a stuck-up imperial jerk. On one memorable occasion - he had called her hopelessly naïve for believing there could be any survivors on the missing ships - she had even thrown a datapad at his head. Hers thankfully, as he was quite partial to his own.  
Only his quick reflexes had saved him from injury, the datapad smashing into a thousand pieces on his office wall. He had told her he felt quite secure as long as her aim stayed so poor, prompting her to snarl at him like an enraged wildcat, her golden eyes blazing. And if he had started to enjoy the way she looked when she was riled up, fire in her eyes and a slight flush on her face, perhaps even did it on purpose sometimes, then that was only his business. 

Quick steps finally announced Sa’onserei. She entered his office with her usual flair, her skirts, yellow today, flowing around her. 

“General Hux, what happened?”

She gave him a questioning look, as she crossed the room, sitting down on his desk, one of her legs nearly touching his.

He shifted slightly uncomfortable. That was another thing. Sa’onserei had no sense of propriety. It was probably the Zi’daya culture. The closer they worked together, the more she had started touching him. A hand on his shoulder here, her arm brushing his, as she was showing him something on a datapad, there. To his chagrin, he was intensely aware of every single little touch. 

“Have you at least heard of the concept of personal space?” he could not help comment. 

Sa’sonserei gave him a very cheeky smile. “Of course. But I do so enjoy making you nervous.” 

So much for her not doing it on purpose. That he had admitted it bothered him, would only spurn her on now. 

“It has come to my attention that against First Order regulations, there has been chocolate cake served in the cantina.” 

She gave him a disbelieving look. “You summoned me here, as if there was some kind of emergency, because of a cake? It is just a kriffing chocolate cake, damn it.”

Hux shook his head. “It is never just a cake. This is just one of so many regulations you and your crew are incapable of adhering to. Aren’t you aware you set a bad example for anyone else on this ship?”

“Stars, which sane person in the whole galaxy would ever prohibit chocolate? That’s pure evil.”

She was just not listening to him. “It is unhealthy and has basically no nutritional value.” He took a deep breath trying to stay calm. “I know you think this is just some minor infringement, but that is how it always starts. Just one little exception. And before you know the whole ship is drowning in chaos and disorder, leading to deadly mistakes.” 

“You honestly believe we are all going to die because we ate chocolate cake? This is starting to sound just a little bit unhinged, you know.” 

“Do you know, what happened on the bridge today?” he asked her. Surely, she would see the problem, if he gave her a recent example. 

“No,” she sighed. ”But I have a distinct feeling I am going to find out.”

“That pilot of yours with the impossible pink stripes in her hair.”  
“Kara noe Be’amara?”  
“Yes, that one. She brought some flight plans from your wing leader. And Lieutenant Tosla tugged on her pony tail and touched her neck. Directly on the bridge.”  
“Mmmh, is that so.”  
“Yes, unbelievable isn’t it? And when I gave him a demerit and asked what the meaning of that behavior was, he blushed and said, it was a private joke,” Hux shook his head in dismay. ”He was such a promising young officer.” 

“Stars, he isn’t dead. He just lost that unfortunate stick up his ass, thankfully,” his Co-Commander grinned mischievously. “Makes one wonder, what she has been doing to him to achieve that.”

“You know exactly, what those two have been up to. Regulation 321b states that…” 

Sa’onserei raised an eyebrow.  
“You are kind of obsessed with that particular regulation, aren’t you?”

Hux had to look away from her, feeling caught. Yes, he might have read this regulation more than once, trying to find a loophole in it. It made him wonder, if there was a reconditioning program on General level. 

“The problem is that your people are seducing my crew to a life of debauchery and disorder,” he couldn’t help the slight whine in his voice. 

Sa’onserei rolled her eyes and looked around the room, as if bored by the whole topic. Suddenly her eyes alighted on a piece of paper lying next to her on the desk. 

The General felt a flash of alarm. He might have forgotten to put away that little scribble…

Before he could stop her, Sa’onserei had picked it up, her full lips turning into a wide grin as she gazed at it. 

“Oh, I see you already calculated how long it will take to seduce the whole ship to the dark side.” 

She winked, waving the paper at him. 

“It is unfortunately completely inaccurate. We don’t need more than a day tops to corrupt anyone.”

Seeing the unamused look on his face, Sa’onserei leaned closer, her golden eyes intent on his.  
“Okay, listen Hux. I know this is hard for you, you being some kind of complete control freak. But just take into account for one second, that we are on a mission, where we quite possibly could all die. Our life force sucked out of us, leaving only a dried-out husk behind. Would it be really so bad, if someone on this ship would have fun for once, beforehand? I know, the horror…”

“Fun?“ he ground out. This was a Stardestroyer, not a Canto Bight pleasure cruiser. 

“Yes, you know a positive feeling of elation? Feelings, I wager you have heard of those?” His Co-Commander gave him a slightly exasperated look. “When was the last time you felt truly happy?”

“The day I got confirmation that my father was dead,” the words were out before he could stop them, leaving an uncomfortable silence in their wake. 

Sa’onserei’s eyes widened in shock. Kriff, why had he said that? It might be the truth, but he did not want to imagine, what she thought about him now. Although he suspected she already knew all the sordid little details of his life out of some Zi’daya intelligence report. 

“Hux,” she took a deep breath. “You would have told me, if you kept some kind of exotic reptile as a pet?”

“What?” he asked, completely baffled by her question. And then he felt something scaly slither along the side of his neck. He froze.

Barely breathing, he threw a look at Sa’onserei. She had completely stopped moving as well, staring at his neck with wide golden eyes.

“Color?” he murmured, his voice close to a whisper. 

“Black, with thin white stripes and bigger red ones.” Kriff, probably a Jakku desert viper, more commonly known as a three paces snake. He would not even make it to the medbay, if it bit him. 

Sa’onserei must have seen the severity of the situation on his face, since she took a deep fortifying breath.

“What do we do?”

“There is a hidden monomolecular blade in my right uniform sleeve.” Hux very carefully turned his arm, trying to make it slip into his fingers. 

The slight movement still was enough to make the snake hiss in a threatening way, its tongue ghosting over Hux’ temple. His heartbeat was hammering in his ears. 

“Oh stars,” his Co-Commander whispered, her warm fingers touching his, as she leaned closer to get the weapon. Her eyes had barely left his, since the snake had appeared. He gave her an imperceptible nod, when he felt her fingers close around the knife. She would have only one try at this. Suddenly he realized he did not even know, if she was proficient with a blade.

Sa’onserei’s eyes hardening in determination were all the warning he got, before she moved so quickly, that it all happened in a blur. Seconds later the snake was writhing on his desk in its death throws, the blade nailing its head to the surface. 

“Kriff, what in the blazes of the galaxy…” the Zi’daya cursed loudly and quickly bent over him, one of her hands touching the side of his face. 

Before he knew what was going on, concerned golden eyes were filling his vision. Her scent tickled his nose, something sweet but subtle like the boisen berries he had collected as a child. It awakened a long buried memory of late summer days long past. Warm sunrays had touched his skin as he lay on his back on green rolling hills, popping berries in his mouth. His mother had always allowed him to eat as many as he liked. This felt similar; only that Sa’onserei’s fingers were burning on his skin much more intensely than Arkanis’ pale sun. 

“Are you okay?” her voice was soft, as her touch wandered along the side of his neck, her mouth so close to his, that he could feel her breath ghosting over his lips. 

Oh, she was just checking, if the snake had bit him…

Only she did not stop, when she reached his face, her fingers slowly trailing over his jaw and further on to his lips. She stared at them, the gold of her eyes burning so wildly, her breath shallow and quick, that for one endless moment, he thought she would cross the remaining distance and press her lips to his. 

And stars how much Hux wanted her to. As she leaned slightly back, swallowing hard, her tongue darting out to whet her own lips, the blaze of desire running through his body nearly made him groan. It was as if her sudden nearness and damn Peavey’s words from earlier had loosened some inhibitions in his brain. 

How easy it was to imagine the way Sa’onsereis’s full rose-colored lips would feel under his, when he kissed her. Her mouth opening, granting him access to find out, if she tasted as good as she smelled. He would walk her backwards to his desk, slowly bending her over it until she was sprawled on top. Then he would open her blouse button for button, his lips following the path of his fingers, before he finally hiked up her skirt, warm skin soft under his touch, as she begged him for more… 

That he could not really imagine his Co-Commander ever begging him for anything tore him out of his little fantasy like a bucket of ice water to his face. 

“Yes, I am unharmed,” Hux’ voice was rough, as he answered her question. Unharmed, but his head was reeling. He was trying to come to terms with the fact that despite it violating more First Order regulations than he could count, he could no longer deny that he wanted Selene noe Sa’onserei. 

“Again wanting something you can never have, so far above your station,” his father’s mocking voice in his head. “You don’t really think, she will ever let someone like you touch her.” 

“Good,” Sa’onserei’s voice was relieved, as she took a step back from him, turning to the gruesome view on his desk. “That was damn close.” 

Perhaps his physical reaction to her was just a natural result of her beauty and them spending so much time together, he thought. It would be more worrying, if he did not react to her in some way. 

Looking at the dead snake with a frown, the General recalled the encounter with Peavey earlier.  
“So that was, why he was so self-satisfied,” he murmured. 

“You have an idea, who could be behind this?” Sa’onserei’s eyes lightened up in curiosity. 

“Only a suspicion. I had an unpleasant encounter with Captain Peavey earlier and he was quite smug. He was probably hoping, I would not be a problem for much longer.” 

His Co-Commander gave him a questioning look. “What were you arguing about?” 

Hux coughed, suddenly uneasy. “He made some …mhm… disparaging remarks about you.”

“And you were defending my honor?” a soft smile played around her lips. “As sweet as that is, you did not need to bother. If I cared about what the likes of Peavey said about me, I would not find one quiet minute in my life,” she frowned. “I just wonder, how he could have thought to get away with this.”

She was quite obviously not aware, how these things were handled in the Order. “There would have been only a superficial investigation. He clearly has Pryde’s approval. It isn’t, as if the Allegiant General has not tried it before himself in the last three months.”

“What?” Sa’onserei turned to him in shock. “Pryde tried to have you killed?”

Hux nodded. “I can’t be one hundred percent sure of course, but there were two more attempts where a deadly animal was used. I assume Pryde wants me to know it was him, he was after all a close acquaintance of my father,” he cleared his throat. “Captain Phasma, she used a poisonous beetle, when she…”

“Wait, how many attempts on your life have there been in total?”

“You mean in the last three month? Or ever?” he shrugged. “I stopped counting after some time to be honest,” he could not help a smug smile appearing on his face. “None of them was successful after all.”

“Stars,” Sa’onserei’s voice was faint, as she let herself fall on the second chair in the room. After a moment, she stared at him, her eyes pensive. “Is that kind of normal in the First Order? How many times have you…”

“Murdered someone?” he scoffed. “I always found assassination to be the tool of those who are not clever enough to get rid of the competition in any other way,” his eyes met hers. “But we both know I am not exactly an innocent.”

She looked at him, her gaze surprisingly soft for a moment. “Do you think Pryde will try again?”

“It stands to reason. Peavey has probably reported to him from the beginning, that I am unable to get your support.”

“But we do get along better,” she protested.

Hux raised an eyebrow. “And why should Peavey have told Pryde that?”

“Mmmh…” his Co-Commander was clearly thinking, her face taking on a look of determination suddenly. 

“Or it was someone whose chocolate cake you took away. Understandable reaction then.” 

She quickly got up, making her way to the door. “I will see you later.”

After spending nearly two hours trying to hunt down and confiscate every last slice of illegal chocolate cake, Dopheld Mitaka returned to the General’s office quite fed up with the galaxy.

The worst thing was, when he had finally carried the immense amount of cake to the trash compressor to get rid of it, Captain Khi’sheko and another Zi’daya had stopped him. Claiming that the chocolate regulation clearly did not apply to them, they had quickly relieved him of his burden and vanished around a corner. While he had not been allowed to savor the one slice Elodia had gotten for him this morning in peace. 

As much as he admired General Hux as a leader of the Order, he sometimes did wish his superior could bend just a little on some topics. 

When Dopheld entered the General’s office to report, that the cake had been take care of, he immediately halted in shock.

“There is a dead snake on the desk…” 

“Oh yes, Commander Sa’onserei killed it.” General Hux barely looked up from his datapad, obviously unfazed by the dead reptile. “If you could call a cleaning droid to get rid of it.”

Nodding faintly Dopheld went back to his desk. Another assassination attempt then. He had hoped, they had left those behind at the Steadfast. 

He knew, what his father would say. He should cut his losses and use the connections his sister’s husbands had to get a posting on a different ship. As if he would ever behave so disloyal towards the General. General Hux had given him a chance after his graduation from the First Order Academy on the Absolution, his marks good but including an unfortunate assessment of his instructors that he was too kind-hearted for military service. There was no way he would forget that. 

It had been more than a few weeks since he had a holocall with his family, though. The last time they had spoken, they had just started to settle into their new house on Coruscant, his sisters joining their parents, as their husbands were mostly off planet on First Order business. His mother had been ecstatic to finally leave the unknown regions behind and join civilization again. As an old imperial family, they had been part of the Exodus after the Galactic war. 

The only dissonance in the conversation had been when his parents had hinted that they expected a promotion soon. After all Priscilla’s and Amanda’s husbands were already captains and yes he was younger but still. 

A by now familiar clicking of heeled shoes announced the person who was on his mind the most these days. As Elodia Brentiss stepped through the door, he was struck by her beauty like so many times before. Dark eyes full of secrets in a regal face, her smooth dark brown skin flawless, she looked like he imagined one of the queens of old did. A dark blue dress hugged her figure, showing off her long legs. Not for the first time he wondered how he could be lucky enough for her to even notice him. 

“Dopheld” a genuine smile transformed her face from pretty to stunning. She sat down a plate on his desk. “I saved you a slice. I figured you didn’t get to enjoy the last one.” She rolled her eyes at the door to General Hux’ office.

“Oh, you are the best!” Dopheld quickly dug in, afraid he would get caught again before he could finish the cake.  
Elodia suddenly leaned forwards touching his face and making him swallow hard. “Chocolate,” she murmured with a wink. Kriff, he wished he knew what he should do in those situations. Every time she touched him, he just froze. But then the girls at the Academy had mostly scared him and afterwards he had completely concentrated on work. Perhaps he should ask Masir for advice, the self-assured wing leader did not seem to have those problems. 

“To be honest I am trying to bribe you.” Elodia’s eyes were playful. “I need to know where Hux' meeting with Pryde is. Selene only has the time but not the room.” 

A cold feeling washed through him. Had the General been right after all, that she was only interested in information? 

“Why?” his voice had turned more than a little sharp under the weight of his doubts. 

“Well, obviously Selene is planning something. She was quite agitated about that assassination attempt,” there was an amused tone to the aide’s voice. 

“And she wants to help the General?” Dopheld felt ashamed. And he had thought she had some nefarious reasons. “That’s actually great. I don’t know, if I can deal with any more assassination attempts. “ He quickly copied the room number for her. 

“Mitaka, do you know…” Captain Opan stepped through the door, his eyes more than a little amused, as he saw Elodia. “Oh, don’t let me disturb you.” 

“Don’t worry, I actually have to go.” Elodia gave the prim Informations officer a long look. “You have created a monster, do you know that? Until today Shima got more than two thousand people in on that bet.” 

“Well,” Opan pulled out his datapad. ”Crew morals are nearly at the level before Batuu. I would call it a rousing success.”

Elodia narrowed her eyes. “Wait, are you tracking that on your datapad. How…”

“Nothing for little Zi’daya eyes.” The blue-eyed captain quickly moved the datapad out of her reach. “How are our two Co-Commanders by the way? I have not given up on my twenty credits, you know.”

“She saved his life,” Dopheld interjected. Surely, that had to count for something.

“What?” As he explained what happened to Opan, Elodia gave them a small wave and vanished through the door. 

Opan gave him a serious look. “I don’t have to cite Order regulations to you and tell you that the fact I found out absolutely nothing about her is bad news? It is as if the woman did not exist four years ago.” 

“Yes, yes, bad idea I know.” Dopheld absent-mindedly fiddled with the plate on his desk. 

“Why do I have the feeling nobody is listening to me anymore?” Opan stole the last piece of the cake with a laugh, putting it in his mouth. 

Selene leaned back on her chair watching her crew in indulgent amusement, as they were eating the chocolate cake Shima had saved from the Finalizer. 

“Please, Kara,” her second in command put his hands over his ears in mock horror. “No details about what you have been doing with this First Order lieutenant between the sheets.” 

“No, no, don’t stop on our account Be’amara. You can be as detailed as you want,” Peeta gave his fellow pilot a suggestive smile. 

“You’re a pig, Peeta,” Briseis admonished, laughter in her voice as she waved her fork at him. 

“Fine,” Kara’s brown eyes sparkled. ”I will only say so much. All this rigorous First Order training does have its perks. I never met a man before, who could be so concentrated on one task and one task only.” 

That sent the girls in the room giggling, while Shima shook his head in amused disbelief. 

“You know what is quite strange,” Kara licked some remaining chocolate of her fork. “Tosla has never seen the sea. He has only been planetside a few short times in his life. Can you believe that?” 

“Easily. They all have no citizenship on any known planet. It was one of the things that came out of the peace accords after the war with the Empire. Nobody, who did not forswear the Imperator, was allowed to remain a citizen of any civilized world. I would wager there are a lot people onboard, who have spent all their lives on one First Order vessel or another. Imagine not feeling the sun on your face or breathing fresh air for years on end,” Rine, one of the technicians commented, more than a little pity on his face. 

“You should hear the things Meg and Lyra have told me about the Stormtrooper program. They have both been sold to the First Order by their parents, because they were too poor to feed them. They don’t even remember, which planet they are from.” Peeta’s voice held complete incredulity. “Their training started, when they were five. Five! They have never done the simplest things. Like walking on the beach, going out with friends, playing hover ball, just having fun, you know. It’s not normal, I tell you.” 

“Well,” Kara transferred another big slice of cake onto her plate. “I told Tosla he can visit me in Ellesmee after the mission. Might be fun to show him the city. You should do the same.”

“What?” Selene stared at her in alarm. It seemed her pilot was a lot more into her First Order lieutenant, than she would have anticipated. The thought made her quite a little uneasy. 

Peeta leaned forward eagerly. “Oh, that is such a good idea. After we dealt with the mission, we should invite the whole Finalizer crew to Ellesmee. We might be even in time for the Midsummer festival.” To his Commander’s surprise that seemed to gather widespread support in the crew. What had they been up to in the last weeks? Perhaps she had been too quick to dismiss the General’s concerns about fraternization. “Selene, can’t you ask Hux about it?”

“We can’t invite half the First Order to a stroll on the beach. Do you really want the people, who are responsible for the Hosnian System, Batuu and countless other destroyed planets to walk freely around Ellesmee?” Selene’s conflicting emotions on the topic made her question sound a lot sharper than intended. 

None of them would understand, when they found out about the missions real goals, she realized. Because betrayal and deception was not the Zi’daya way. No, being openhearted and embracing life in its myriad colors was. 

She was torn between pride at her crew’s ability to feel for other people and wanting to protect them from their own naivety. The galaxy had a tendency to destroy those with a too compassionate heart. 

“Yes, no one is denying that they are responsible for that. But if you think about it, it isn’t all that black and white. It’s probably the only life they have ever known. They have all been practically brainwashed since birth.” Peeta’s brown eyes were really serious for once. 

“There never is an excuse for coldblooded murder,” the words were out of her mouth before she could stop them, her own voice resonating in her head over and over again. A sudden nausea turned her stomach. Something must have been visible on her face, as Briseis looked at her in concern. Before her friend could ask her what was wrong, she thankfully saw Elodia in the entrance to the kitchen, giving her a subtle nod.

Selene got up quickly, following her aide through the corridor to her room.

“And? Did you find something out?”

“Yes, I got the meeting room for you. Obviously only Hux and Peavey talk with Pryde.” 

Peavey. The thought of that despicable little rat made her clench her hands in anger. Well, she would deal with this problem today. 

She changed from her civilian clothes into her uniform, knowing Pryde was the kind of man who would take her a lot more serious that way. 

Her thoughts flew back to the nearly casual way Hux had remarked on the countless attempts on his life. She was unable to envision living in constant fear like this, never able to trust anyone. It was clear, that it had not been paranoia making him hesitate to take a beverage from her, but just honed survival instincts. 

A startling revelation run through her head. After that first morning, he had never made her try his tea again, before drinking it himself. Which meant that to a certain degree, as unbelievable as it sounded, Armitage Hux trusted her. Her throat closed up in sudden emotion. What irony, when she was planning to… 

She violently banished the thought to a faraway corner of her mind. She was doing this more and more in the last weeks. Just like she was trying to forget how his pale skin had felt like under her fingers, as she had touched his face. This way only lay a blazing catastrophe on apocalyptic scale, even she was able to see that. But part of her wanted to crash and burn.

Ignoring the slight trembling in her hands, she tamed her long hair into a tight bun at the back of her head. She stared at the woman that looked back at her from the mirror.

She could nearly pass as First Order that way, if her uniform was black or teal instead of blue. If only it was just as easy to transform her emotions into cold unfeeling necessity as well. 

Hux tried to keep a smirk off his face, as he saw Peavey’s disappointed look when he entered the meeting room for the holocall with his superior. Pryde had begun to insist on regular reports a few days ago, making clear he was not happy how the mission progressed so far. 

His face staying carefully blank as he greeted the Allegiant General on the holoscreen, Hux wondered how he should play this. 

“General Hux,” Pryde’s voice held the usual disdain. “I hope you have better news today.”

Before he could answer, decisive steps sounded from outside and the door swished open to reveal his Co-Commander.

For a moment he was completely baffled. For the first time since she had come onboard the Finalizer Sa’onserei was in uniform and of all things her hair was in a tight regulation bun. With her eyes cool and a thin smile on her lips, she could nearly pass as a First Order officer. Somehow, this thought was deeply disconcerting.

“Allegiant General, how nice to see you again.”

The Zi’daya crossed the room, touching his wrist in welcome as she sat down directly next to him. “General Hux.”

“Captain Peavey,” turning to the red-faced captain, her face transformed into open dislike, her voice icy. 

Hux saw Pryde’s cool blue eyes register every little detail. 

“General, have you informed Allegiant General Pryde that I would be joining you today?” 

“I was just planning to do that,” he said, trying inconspicuously to catch her eye. What was she playing at?”

“I am sorry to interrupt your meeting. But yesterday General Hux and I discussed a few upgrades on the ventral cannons. We also have been working on implementing the new target acquisition system,“ her leg pressed against his under the table for a moment, nearly making him jump. There was a hard edge in her eyes that told him, she wanted him to play along. “The General said we would need your and the High Commands approval for that. I hoped we could solve this today.” 

Pryde looked a little startled for a moment, but quickly summoned up a polite expression.  
“But of course Commander, you can be assured of my and the High Commands fullest support of every improvement you can think of.” 

“Oh, that is good to hear. There have been some onboard the ship, who have been a little critical regarding the use of Zi’daya technology.” The glance Sa’onserei threw at Peavey at those words was sharp enough to draw blood. 

Oh, she was good at this. So, so good. 

“I.. what..” Captain Peavey was clearly at a loss what to say to that accusation. 

Pryde silenced him with a glare. 

“Well, I am sure you have a lot of internal topics to discuss. I will leave you to it.” Sa’onserei stood up and nodded in Pryde’s direction with a cool smile on her face. “Allegiant General.”

She stopped at the way to the door and looked back, as if something had crossed her mind. 

“Oh, and Armi… ” she halted and bit her lip. “General Hux, we will see each other later to discuss the fuel resources?”

To his knowledge, there was nothing to discuss about any fuel resources, but Hux let a small smile reach his lips. “Of course, Commander, I am looking forward to it.” 

After she had left, there was a short silence, until Peavey sat up straight, his voice complaining“Allegiant General, you can’t really mean…

„Captain Peavey, you said quite enough today. You are dismissed.“ Pryde‘s voice was icy.

The Captain quickly left the room, throwing an angry look at Hux. 

“Well,” the older man’s eyes were pensive. “It seems you and Oilena’s heir are working together well. A surprising development, General Hux. After all you were quite adamant not to have her as your Co-Commander.” 

He just couldn’t resist the temptation to provoke Pryde a little bit. “She has a lot of unexpected virtues.” 

“Is that so.” Pryde narrowed his eyes, clearly contemplating how close their relationship really was. “Be it, as it may. We need those weapons as soon as possible. So continue the good work, General. I admit, I am pleasantly surprised by your progress.” 

They discussed a few more topics before the Allegiant General signed off, leaving Hux alone in the room with his thoughts. 

Sa’onserei had just played an elaborate ruse to convince the Allegiant General that Hux was invaluable for the mission. But why?  
To stop Pryde from trying to assassinate him, sure. But what was the motivation behind it?

Did the Zi’daya think they could gain more influence on the First Order through him than through Pryde?  
Was every interaction between him and Sa’onserei actually a clever way to manipulate him?  
But there were much easier ways to achieve that. 

No, he shook his head. There were things even the best actress could not fake and he had felt…

“You felt what? That she actually cares, if you live or die?“ The thought was foolish, wasn’t it?

Still he couldn’t get it out of his head, as he returned to his office, finding of all things a slice of chocolate cake on his desk, a pink post-it with the order to eat it on top. 

A low pinging noise tore Selene out of a report her brother had sent, detailing some old legends from the Gann about the ‘Dark ones’. She quickly leaned over to grab her comms, having a feeling who it would be.

As expected the holoscreen changed to the image of her Co-Commander in his office, swatting at something pink that was flurrying around his head.  
“Sa’onserei, care to explain what this is?”

“It’s a flying post-it. My brother invented them.” She grinned. “Don’t worry it will stop, if you do what it says.” 

Hux gave her an exasperated look, she pointedly ignored. 

“How was the rest of the meeting with Pryde?”

“Quite satisfactory. He sure wasn’t happy with Peavey, telling him to leave the room. And I am to continue my good work with you. Might be the first time that man ever said something positive to me.” 

Selene gave him a relived smile. “The fake slip-up at the end wasn’t too much? I mean, we want Pryde to believe we are getting along splendidly not that I am banging your brains out.”

Hux’ eyes widened. “Banging my brains out…Sa’onserei…” Her Co-Commander was blushing so wildly, that his face was nearly as red as his hair. Those old-fashioned imperial sensibilities baffled her a little bit. The man didn’t blink an eye at the destruction of whole planets, but just mention sex in a casual way and he nearly fainted. She should do it more often.

“Well, I am only glad that it worked, I don’t fancy needing to kill poisonous animals every day.” 

“About that,” his green eyes were earnest, as he fixed them on her face. “I think I did not even properly thank you for saving my life. And for helping me against Pryde. I do wonder why you are doing this, though.” 

“As I said before, I want this mission to succeed,” she tried to sound as nonchalant as possible. “And keeping you as the Finalizer’s commander is the most likely way to achieve that. I would never question your competence.”

Her Co-Commander gave her a long look, his eyes holding a calculating gleam; obviously, he was not convinced by her answer.

Well, neither was she. She knew, that the fact she had gone out of her way today to help him could not be explained completely rationally. 

Hux swatted at the little paper bird in annoyance again. “Can’t you make this stop?” 

“Just eat the damn cake, if it bothers you so much!” 

“Fine.” He grabbed the fork, his face determined, as if he was forced to perform a horrendous task. “You are unbelievable pushy do you know that?”

He cut of a piece of cake with the fork, putting it in his mouth reluctantly. Suddenly surprise flashed over his features, morphing quickly into pleasure, as his eyes closed, a low sound escaping him that could only be described as a moan. 

Selene stared at him, an uncomfortable hot flush flooding her body. Stars, she was not really turned on by watching Armitage Hux eat a slice of kriffing cake. What was wrong with her? 

“I guess, it’s good?” her voice sounded more than a little hoarse to her own ears. 

He put another piece on his fork, eating it just as slowly as the first one, his eyes closing again. Was he doing this on purpose?

“You know, you were right, this is actually bloody amazing,” his eyes had turned softer than ever, as he opened them to look at her. 

She raised an eyebrow, in over exaggerated surprise. “Who would have thought that day would come? You admitting I was right, while breaking a First Order regulation.” 

“Mmh,” she recognized the way his clear green eyes were shining and the corner of his lips turned up in one of those half smiles as a sign that he was in a playful mood. “there might be some rules worth breaking.” 

Dear Rhea, give her strength, she needed to stay reasonable, remember the mission and not say something flirty in return. 

“Perhaps, I can convince you to break a few more in time.”  
Fine, she was officially on the path to insanity. Time to steer this back into safer waters. 

“It’s actually an old family receipt. My father used to bake it for us all the time. He was a genius with baking. Owned a bakery at Sweetwater square.”

“Your mother married a baker? As the Zi’daya heir? ” there was genuine surprise in Hux’ voice.  
“Why not? I told you, we Zi’daya are not as pompous and stuck-up as those Core-Worlders. Actually, Mom was an inventor, brilliant but always with her hands on one new project or the other. She tended to forget eating, when she was caught up in her work. Well, dad made sure she didn’t starve with a generous supply from his bakery and after a while all this taking care turned into love.”

“Your family is very close-knit, isn’t it?” A strange look passed over her Co-Commander’s face. “Did your brothers never question that you will be the next leader of the Zi’daya? You are the youngest after all.” 

“Stars no, Tay is like mom, brilliant mind but impossible with people and Deacon prefers the outdoors to stuffy council meetings. They both have no interest in leading the Zi’daya. No, grandmother always says, she knew from the moment of my birth, that I would be her successor.”

Hux looked pensive for a moment. “Have you ever thought about what you would do if you were not the heir?”

Selene laughed. “Having a beach bar on Solei, spending my days relaxing?”

“No,” he shook his head. “I don’t think so. Your brilliant mind would be bored after a week.”

She thought of the countless men, who had just laughed and said it sounded like a good idea, at that answer in the past. 

It figured that the one guy in years who just got her and that after knowing her for only a few weeks, was the one destroying whole star systems. 

“Probably.” She shrugged. “And you? Ever wondered what your life would be like without the First Order?”

The General’s eyes turned much colder suddenly, all emotions draining from his face. “No, I never had use for such idle thoughts. I have always known my duty.”

His answer made her look away, cursing herself for expecting anything more. 

Hux was First Order through and through and she was much too close to forgetting it sometimes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks everyone for comments and kudos. You are the best!
> 
> I used my free day for another chapter ;-)
> 
> I hope you like it!


	6. Adrenaline surge

“You have compassion for her.”  
Supreme Leader Snoke to Kylo Ren 

Briseis bend over, her fingers skimming the floor, stretching her legs, as she warmed up for training. Selene, Elodia and her had decided to use the so far quiet morning to squeeze in a little bit of hand-to-hand training. Looking around the spacious private training room decked out in black mats, they occupied, she could not help an appreciating look on her face. Whatever you could say about the First Order, their facilities were top-notch. 

“Uff,” Selene made a pained sound, when Elodia sent her to the mat, not for the first time this session.  
The former assassin raised an eyebrow with a smirk, obviously not sorry in the least. “You seem distracted today, Sel. Normally you don’t make it that easy for me.” 

The fair-haired woman quickly got up again, shaking her head to clear it. She went back into a fighting stance, her face determined. “It’s nothing. Only a lot on my mind, lately. This mission starts to get to me. ”

In a flurry of movements, Elodia advanced on her, her hits so forceful, that the Zi’daya heir had to retreat through half the training room. It seemed the dark-skinned aide was in a mood today. While she was by far the most capable of the three in weaponless combat, she usually did not fight that fierce.  
“Really,” she basically growled. ”Might be all the innocent lives on the line.” 

“Girls…” Briseis said in warning. They were speaking Zi’daya sure, but she was certain Opan had organized a good translation droid by now. They needed to be careful. 

“Anyone in particular you have in mind?” Selene’s voice was taunting, as she feigned a move to the right, finally landing a hit that made Elodia groan as well. “A certain lieutenant perhaps?”

Briseis sighed and quickly activated a particular music list on her comms. No use trying to talk sense into those two this morning, she would let them hash it out on their own. Luckily, Tay had programmed a scrambler to avoid conversations to be recorded years ago. As upbeat music began to play, she watched her two friends having a go at each other with a more than obvious edge. 

A well-placed round kick by the former assassin nearly made Selene loose her footing again. “You do realize he is not really an innocent, it’s not as if he was on vacation, when they blew up the Hosnian system.” She jumped back a few paces. “And I did warn you beforehand not to get too close.” 

“So you think he deserves to be blown up, too? As does anyone else on this ship? A death sentence for the crime of being part of the First Order?” Elodia’s face was fierce, as she caught her breath.

“Probably not. But since when does everyone in this galaxy get, what they deserve? There are many people dead, who deserved to live.” Briseis noticed that however assured those words sounded, her childhood friend was not able to meet her aide’s eyes. “It isn’t our responsibility. And they chose their side.” 

“Allegiances may change,” Elodia dabbed at the sweat on her brow with the hem of the red training shirt she was wearing.

“If you really think that, then you are lying to yourself. Believe me, you are just setting yourself up for disappointment.” 

“You believed in me, remember? You knew for weeks who I really was and you did not tell Khendrik,” the dark-haired woman’s eyes hold a lot of emotion. Briseis felt a wave of sympathy for her. If Elodia brought that time up on her own, she was serious about this. She mostly avoided speaking about her past. “Sometimes that’s all that is needed. For someone to reach out a hand to you.” 

“That was different,” Selene appeared more than a little uneasy herself, looking away for a moment. 

“Was it really? You never doubted me?” Elodia used their Commander’s obvious preoccupation to her advantage, one of her legs going behind their friend’s while she grabbed her hand and used her forward momentum to bring her to the floor again. This time she did not let her get up again, bending her arm behind her back to keep her down.  
“Not even when you woke up with a knife to your throat?” she murmured, her voice low. 

“No, never” Selene hit her free hand on the mat to signal her defeat. As she got up, she turned to the former assassin, softly touching her face. “Because I knew your heart.” Now it was Elodia’s turn to look away, clearly overcome with emotion. 

Selene took a deep breath and looked at both her friends, her voice turning decisive.  
“The difference is, I can be reckless with my own life. But not with Ellesmee. Not with our people. And not with…” 

The fate of the whole galaxy. It remained unspoken but the magnitude of what might be at stake here was a heavy weight in the air for a moment. It set Briseis on edge. 

“That’s a grandiose speech. Sounds a little rehearsed though, have you been telling it to yourself a lot lately?” she did not even try to keep the sarcasm out of her own voice. 

“You starting in on me now as well? Anything you want to tell me, perhaps? About why Captain Trach seems to hover permanently around our ship, even when you do not have a training flight scheduled? Stars, is there even one member of my crew who can keep his or her pants on around the First Order?” 

Wow, she was one to talk. Last time she checked at least not half the ship was betting on her getting it on with her Co-Commander. 

“You begin to sound a lot like a certain general. Are you going to cite regulations at us any moment? You forget who we are. What did you expect would happen, if we stayed on this ship for weeks or months on a mission to stars know where? Getting to know people makes you care. Next you tell us to harden our hearts for the necessary sacrifices like in some kriffing First Order propaganda speech.” 

“Well, I certainly did not expect this kriffing mess.” Selene threw the unused towel, she had picked up to wipe the sweat of her face, on the floor in obvious frustration. 

The door to the training room swished open suddenly, revealing Opan, Mitaka and Masir, all dressed in identical black First Order training clothes. “Oh, great” the fair Zi’daya murmured. “What a coincidence.”  
Elodia just threw an annoyed look at her, before going to the door to greet Mitaka. 

Briseis touched her friend’s arm, sensing that she was actually as torn as they felt. “Is there anything you want to tell me?”

Selene hesitated for a moment and then shook her head slowly. “Perhaps we will all be killed by the giant life sucking bats. Then the problem solves itself.”

“You know there is something sincerely wrong, if this is your preferred scenario.”

The Zi’daya heir laughed with a slightly self-depreciating edge to it and glanced at the First Order officers who had joined them again. “Mmh, you’re a lucky girl Brie. I wouldn’t kick that one out of my bed.”

“Nothing happened.” Briseis let her gaze linger on the way the standard issue trousers clung to Masir’s ass like a second skin. Predictably, he gave her a smug smile when he noticed her look. “So far.” 

While Selene was right that she and Masir had spent a lot of time together in the last weeks both in and out of the cockpit, she had still held on to her resolve not to let this go too far.

Not because she didn’t like him, quite the opposite. It had turned out, that on top to his good looks the Galatean captain possessed a good-natured humor and was adept at making her laugh.  
And the way he had patiently explained some of the more complicated battle formations of the Order to her without lording his greater military experience over her had pleasantly surprised her. Finding a guy on officer level, who wasn’t arrogant was rare after all. 

No the problem was that she did not trust herself not to care more than she should, if she slept with him. The last thing she needed was another heartbreak. 

“Gentlemen, how nice of you to join us.” Selene’s smile was that of a playful cat, as she changed from Zi’daya to Basic. “Briseis just told me she wants to see the First Order’s hand-to-hand style. Perhaps you can demonstrate it to her, Trach.” 

“I would love nothing more,” the good-looking captain grinned at Briseis, then his eyes widened as he took in Selene for the first time. “That’s an …interesting outfit, Commander.”

“That?” Selene looked down on herself. “Oh, I got the shirt a few years back after my first military posting with Admiral De’ana. The crew found it funny. Always worn it for training since.” 

The dark grey shirt was actually a little bit threadbare already, but the writing saying ‘Is that an order, sir?’ printed on it in bright neon pink was quite visible. Although it might have been the combination with the shortest training shorts that even Briseis had ever seen, that made Masir and Opan exchange a look. 

“Hey, stop going easy on him, Elodia.” While they had been talking, Mitaka and their friend had started training again, although it was more Elodia demonstrating some moves to throw an opponent, while the big-eyed lieutenant stared at her in awe. “You were not so lenient with me today,” Selene complained. 

“You might have earned it.” Her aide quipped back, but she did pick up the pace. For a moment it seemed as if Mitaka could keep up with her, the gentle lieutenant a lot better at this than Briseis would have thought, until one of Elodia’s fists got though his defense and collided with his jaw, sending him to the floor with an audible yelp. 

“Ooch,” Masir commented with a flinch. “That looked painful.”

“Oh no, Dopheld. Did I hurt you?” Elodia immediately went to his side on her knees, putting his head on her lap as she checked his face for any lasting damage. 

“Mmh,” Selene murmured. “his eyes do seem a little bit unfocused from here.” 

That made Opan chuckle. “It might have more to do with the position he is in than any real injury.” 

Briseis had to agree with the composed captain. The way her dark-haired friend was leaning over the lieutenant in apparent concern had brought her cleavage exactly at his eye level. It was obvious he could not help staring, as she dabbed at his mistreated jaw. 

A loud ping out of the room’s speakers interrupted them.  
“Commander Sa’onserei, please report to the command bridge immediately.” 

“Blast, this sounds serious.” Selene hesitated for a moment, clearly unsure if she had time to change her clothes. “I should probably go there right away.” 

Opan gave her a grave nod. “Must be something really urgent, if the General called for you over the ship-wide speakers.”

The Zi’daya heir promptly made for the door, obviously determined to get to the command bridge as quickly as possible. 

“Did she really have no time to change?” Seeing Masir and Opan grin openly, after her friend had practically dashed out of the room, Briseis felt a little suspicious. 

Opan laughed. ”No, the General would have alerted all commands, if there was a real emergency. Can you imagine Hux’ face when she arrives at the bridge in that outfit, though? A pity we won’t be able to see it.”

Masir pulled out his comms. “Who has a shift at the bridge? Goran is there, isn’t she? Perhaps we can at least get a live report.” He quickly typed in a message to the Navigations lieutenant.

“Your impossible,” Briseis said, but she leaned over in curiosity as well.

They all three started to laugh loudly as they read Goran’s answer. 

“I don’t know how you managed to convince her to go to the bridge in that outfit but this has been golden. He couldn’t speak for at least five minutes. I was quite sure we would have to call medbay.” 

Hux allowed himself a satisfied smile, as he looked out of the command bridge’s main viewport. They had finally found the Victorinox after more than two weeks of searching. 

Unfortunately, at one of the positions, his Co-Commander had marked as most likely, when the search had been fruitless for so long, an asteroid field around one of this starsystem’s gas planets that had disrupted their signals, but he would not begrudge her a little gloating at that fact.

“Lieutenant Baska, prepare the surveillance drones. Let’s see what we can find.” 

Against his will, Hux could not help a feeling of unease well up inside him. The way the  
First Order dreadnought drifted aimlessly in space in front of them, completely dark and no sign of any life onboard was more than a little foreboding.

What a contrast to how he remembered the ship as a young lieutenant, representing all the might of the First Order. He would go in himself, he decided. He owed that to Captain Orea. 

It probably meant that Sa’onserei would join him. Security protocols dictated that one of them should remain onboard the Finalizer, but he knew her well enough by now to expect she would insist on coming with him. 

He needed to inform her of their findings. When she did not answer her comms, the General turned to Lieutenant Tosla, asking him to call for her over the Finalizer’s ship speakers.

The drones had just reached the Victorinox’ hangar doors, when his Co-Commander’s melodious voice rang out in glee behind him. “Oh, you finally found her. I just knew she would be at the Alpha 7 asteroid field. That thing has a serious pull.”

The way nearly all his officers were gawking should probably have warned him, but he was so concentrated on the holo stream the drones provided, that he just turned around with a frown. 

For a long moment Hux’ mind just went blank at her sight.

What in the blazes of the universe was she wearing? He was dimly aware that the low bustle of the bridge continued in the background, but his brain was caught up in a repeating loop of staring at those bare and shapely golden-brown legs before trailing up to some kind of nearly see-through shirt that seemed tight enough to be painted on. 

“General Hux?” Sa’onserei asked with a questioning tone to her voice. Oh, he should probably answer her. The only problem was he seemed unable to find his voice, his gaze still glued to her form. 

“Hux?” his Co-Commander stepped closer to him, the way the corners of her mouth began to tug up in a mischievous smile warning him that she had caught up on his reaction to her outfit. He absentmindedly read the writing on her shirt. ‘Is that an order, sir?’

The suggestive double meaning was not lost on him. How typical Zi’daya.

“Commander Sa’onserei,” when he finally found his voice again, it was far from the cool and detached tone he was aiming for. “Is there a particular reason why you are not wearing trousers? Or did you just forget them?” 

“Don’t be ridiculous, General. Of course I am wearing trousers.” She turned around, hiking up the hem of her shirt, and bent forward a little, her eyes full of laughter as she watched him over her shoulder. That little minx. “My training shorts. You see?” 

Oh, he did indeed see. He was quite sure a lot of people owned underwear that showed less skin than her skimpy shorts. And he had thought this could not get any worse. The sight of her tempting curves right in front of him made his uniform trousers become uncomfortable tight. He quickly sat down on his Commander’s chair to hide his embarrassing reaction, cursing his own weakness. An officer of the First Order should not be ruled by his base desires like that. 

“And you think that is an outfit appropriate for the command bridge?” the General ground out between gritted teeth. 

“Of course not,” Sa’onserei rolled her eyes. “But I thought I should come here immediately, so stop complaining. “  
She leaned closer to him, watching the stream on his console. “Now, what did you find so far?”

With her body so near, he could smell the distinct notes of fresh sweat mixing in her by now familiar scent of sweet berries and summer. A few drops still clung to her skin slowly descending along one glistening leg. He swallowed hard. 

Perhaps the universe had finally devised a special form of torture in punishment just for him. There were some things he did in the name of the Order even he was not proud of. Although they had been necessary, of course. 

“No sign of any damages on the ship,” Lieutenant Baska reported. “And no life forms detected onboard. Should we go in farther, sir?” 

“Yes, do that. Let’s have a look at the command bridge,” Hux tried to concentrate on his console, the stream still only showing eerily empty corridors devoid of any signs of life, the only light coming from the drones’ headlights. 

Sa’onserei shifted a little, the movement brushing her leg against his arm on top of the armrest. The cheeky smile on her lips told him that she was completely aware of what she was doing to him. “So far it seems like on all the other ships,” she murmured. 

Hux felt a twinge of annoyance at the way she clearly enjoyed making him uncomfortable. He loathed being manipulated, especially by her. But then…he had let her have the upper hand in that particular field from the start, hadn’t he? Perhaps it was time to change that.

He let his gaze sweep over the bridge. Everyone seemed to be completely preoccupied. And the way his Co-Commander stood directly next to him behind his console made sure nobody could see what he was doing. He might lose a hand in the next second, though. 

His eyes fixed on the screen as if nothing was amiss, the General slowly let his hand drift down into the space between them. A soft gasp rewarded him when he closed his fingers around her calf. 

“Let’s see, if we can find anything interesting after all,” to his relief his voice sounded utterly composed again. 

He let his fingers trail higher, reaching her knee. It was a pity he was wearing his gloves, he thought, as they were preventing him from feeling that soft skin under his fingertips. Although he could still feel the heat of her body through the leather. When she didn’t react by taking a step back, as he had expected, he finally gave up his pretense of watching the screen and looked at her. 

Hux immediately realized he might have miscalculated by trying to pay her back in that way. He had completely underestimated his reaction to her reaction. 

Sa’onserei’s eyes were closed, a soft flush on her high cheekbones. When his hand unconsciously inched higher, she grabbed the edge of the console in a white knuckled grip, biting her lip, as if she had to keep herself from making a sound. He would need more than one cold shower to get that image out of his head again. 

He had to stop this immediately, after all this behavior was unbecoming of a General of the First Order. Just a few days ago, he had chastised Lieutenant Tosla for far less scandalous actions. But it was as if his enticing Co-Commander had awakened some wild part of him that was unable to resist the temptation. Seduced to the dark side, indeed. 

“After we get the all clear, I plan to go onboard myself,” he couldn’t help a smug smile as his fingers played along the inside of her thigh, a shudder going through her. He began to understand the allure of this particular game. This was kind of exhilarating. “I find some things do need my personal attention. I expect you wish to join me?“ 

Sa’onserei’s hand suddenly closed over his, her eyes opening to meet his own. Pupils blown wide, their color had turned to molten gold, a blazing fire burning in them. He longed to burn himself in it more than he cared to admit. 

His Co-Commander took a deep breath and made a step to the side, out of his reach. To his surprise, there was a pleased tone in her voice as she answered him. ”Of course, General. I have to say I am pleasantly surprised that you realized that some things are much more satisfying if approached in tandem.” 

When Hux saw the playful smile on her face, he suspected that he might not have understood the rules of this game as well as he thought. 

“I will meet you at the hangar, then?” Sa’onserei moved towards the entrance of the bridge, allowing his heartbeat to slowly return to something like normal. 

“Yes… and Commander, please change into something a little more appropriate.”  
He became aware of his mistake the moment the words had left his mouth, even before she raised an eyebrow in amusement.

“Is that an order, sir?” her laughing voice drifted back to him, as she left the room.  
He probably had to count the fact that his crew at least tried to hide their chuckles, as a sign of impeccable First Order discipline.

Twenty minutes later the General sat in his own Upsilon-class command shuttle ready to leave for the Victorinox. He had decided to take three squadrons of stormtroopers with them to allow an efficient search of the ship, their white armor gleaming under the harsh light in the shuttle. As had become his habit on his personal missions in the last years, he requested AN-3478’s squad to be one of them. It was probably a misplaced sentimentality, but he had always felt there was a stronger bond there than the token loyalty due a commanding officer of the Order. 

Quick steps on the ramp of the ship announced the last missing member of the excursion. Sa’onserei entered with a curiously rushed look on her face and sat down on the seat opposite him. “We can go!” she exclaimed, watching the entrance of the shuttle with something like trepidation. 

Hux took in her appearance with a frown. He probably should have been more specific, when he had asked her to change. The skin-tight material covering her body was not much better than the skimpy outfit from before. 

Noticing his look, she sat up straighter, flexing an arm, the dark grey fabric shimmering. “Never seen a mech-armor before, General? State of the art for ground excursions. Holds of stray blaster fire and most blades. While allowing complete movability, not like those old-fashioned things you are using.” She gave the stormtrooper’s armors a condescending look.

Hux shook his head in annoyance. “Those are based on the armor the empire used for decades. Tried and tested.” 

“Oh, you didn’t find them lying around somewhere in an abandoned base? Well, if you are ever interested in real armor and not in a walking security hazard, we are planning to make those for mass market soon.” 

“You know, what a walking security hazard is?” her Co-Commander growled. ”That braid of yours. There is a reason for the regulation that states that your hair should be short or in a bun. Your fancy armor won’t help you, if an enemy grabs you.” And it was unbelievable distracting. He could not stop imagining how those fair strands would look like spilling over dark First Order sheets. 

Sa’onserei gave him a once over, taking in his uniform and general’s greatcoat.  
“And you don’t need any kind of armor, I guess? Well, you can probably stop blaster bolts with a glare.” The General was quite sure, he heard more than one trooper laugh at that. 

“We could really get armor like that?” one of the troopers piped up. Hux noted the number on his armour: ZN-7785. 

AN-3478 immediately turned to them, the apology in his voice audible even through the voice modulator. “Excuse him, General. This is actually his first mission.” 

His Co-Commander watched the exchange with a frown on her face. “Wait, he isn’t allowed to ask a harmless question?” 

“The regulations state that one shouldn’t address one’s superior without explicit permission. Furthermore idle talk…”

She shook her head in disbelief. “Sorry, that’s completely daft. Should we all sit here in tense silence then?” 

She was impossible. Before he could chastise her, the pilot asked them to prepare for departure. Sa’onserei let out a relieved sigh, as they cleared the hangar doors, space opening up before them. “Finally, I thought we would never leave.” 

“Any particular reason?” he could not help asking.

“Oh, I did not tell Khendrik I was going with you. He would have insisted on a dozen unnecessary security measures. It would have taken hours that way. He will have a fit, when we get back, though.” 

“But you are his superior! Can’t you just command him to do what you want?” ZN-7785 piped up again. Just as he had feared, Hux thought, you allowed an insubordination once and that was the result.

Sa’onserei predictably only laughed. ”Well, I could try. But Khendrik has been my bodyguard since I was fifteen, so it doesn’t really work that way. Furthermore we are Zi’daya.”

“Because you are incapable of discipline,” Hux couldn’t help but interject. Like half of his crew nowadays apparently. 

“No,” she gave him an annoyed look. ”because personal freedom is one of the tenets of our ancestor. When she left the core worlds it was one of the things she said. ‘I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will.’ * ”

“Oh, and what does that mean?” ZN-7785’s voice was confused.

“Yeah, I know it is a little abstract. We tend to say it a little more prosaic on Ellesmee.” Sa’onserei’s eyes held a definite challenge, as she looked at Hux. “We are Zi’daya. We do what we want, we fly where we want and we fuck who we want.”  
His breath caught in his throat at her provoking words, making him cough violently. “Commander,” he was able to press out, his voice admonishing. She was not hinting at, what he thought she was hinting at, was she? Did she not realize those words could be taken as a proposition? With the way, the troopers tended to gossip, this would be all over the ship by the end of the day.  
“Everything alright, General?” her teasing tone told him, that she was most likely playing with him again.  
The command shuttle shuttered slightly. “Docking at the Victorinox’ main hangar,” their pilot informed them.  
Only darkness was visible through the viewports, all lights on the dreadnought still offline. 

The troopers got into formation at his curt order, marching off the shuttle. 

“You know Hux,” Sa’onserei got up as well, stopping to look at him. “one day you might need to accept one simple truth. It’s human nature to be free.” She followed his soldiers outside. 

The General felt hot anger course through him at the way she kept provoking him in front of his soldiers. She was a rebel to the core and how had he come so close to forgetting it? 

Oh, he knew how. A few stolen touches and heated looks had been all it had taken for him to let her get away with her behavior. Pathetic.

Yes, they might be reluctant allies right this moment, but he knew how quickly allegiances could change. There were good reasons, why the Order did not allow any emotional entanglements.

It was more than probable, that she would stab him in the back after this mission was over to help Organa. Or that he would receive the order to secure the Zidan system for the First Order by any means necessary. 

He had let his unfortunate fascination with her overrule his common sense. But this weakness would end now.

“Secure the parameter and the command bridge, Sergeant. I want all systems running again as soon as possible,” Hux had left the shuttle himself and turned to AN-3478. 

After the troopers had vacated the hangar to follow his orders, he grabbed Sa’onserei’s arm, forcing her to face him. 

“What do you think you are doing?” he hissed drawing her closer.

The dim light from the open shuttle door was just bright enough to show how her eyes widened in surprise. “Are we really back to this?”

“You tell me. What do you expect? You are trying to corrupt my soldiers to your rebellious ways right in front of me.”

“Are you afraid your men will be tempted by a few words?” She leaned closer, her body brushing his. Her breath caressed his ear, as she got on her toes to whisper to him. “Or are you a little tempted yourself?”

Before he could stop himself he had buried his hand in the hair at her nape, caging her against him as his lips hovered dangerously close to her skin. 

“Blast it, Selene, has nobody ever told you not to play with fire?”  
Hux registered his monumental slip-up, when her eyes glittered in astonishment quickly replaced by amused satisfaction. Kriff, she wouldn’t let this go.

She used the diversion to twist out of his hold and take a step away, her tone turning deceptively light. “Of course, Armitage, countless people on many occasions. But why should I, when it is so much fun?” 

Her melodious accent flowed around the syllables of his name like the sea caressing some foreign shore. He shouldn’t have noticed, shouldn’t have liked how it sounded on her lips. But then the list of things he shouldn’t be doing around her remained ever growing. 

The ship’s lights went on with a sudden flicker. 

Selene briefly closed her eyes at the sudden brightness of the Victorinox’ onboard lights. If she had thought this couldn’t get any more eerie she had been wrong. The way the hangar was devoid of any people reminded her of a ghost ship.

Thankfully, the leading stormtrooper returned in that moment, saving her from having to talk to her Co-Commander again. She used the time of his report to Hux to regain her composure, her heart still ponding in her breast in a quick rhythm. For a moment, she had been quite sure he would kiss her. And the awful truth was, she would have let him. Would let him do a great deal more, if he tried. 

She briefly wondered how things had escalated so quickly between them. But then she did know. Earlier on the bridge she had not been able to stop herself from teasing him and instead of becoming uncomfortable, as she had expected, he had teased back. No, not teased back. He had touched her in a way that had sent fire through her veins. A burning desire, that made her shudder and want. It had taken considerable willpower to not drag him to some empty meeting room then and there. 

She had ignited a violent storm in those green eyes and now it was threatening to consume her.

Selene followed the General and the stormtrooper sergeant through the hangar doors, inconspicuously scrutinizing her Co-Commander. His greatcoat flowing around him, his face cold and composed again, he looked every inch the ruthless General of the First Order with no traces of the strange vulnerability left, she thought she had glimpsed earlier. He would probably not even feel any remorse at touching her one day and razing her planet to the ground the next. And that was the most disturbing thing, wasn’t it? She had no illusions about who and what he was. But she still felt that pull towards him. 

It wasn’t the Zi’daya way to close one’s eyes towards one’s own desires and weaknesses. Selene knew she had a proclivity for danger, craving the feel of adrenaline rushing through her veins. She remembered the times when she and her brothers had gone up against the Corellian spice cartel. Tay and Deacon had been nervous before every mission, every meeting in a dark seedy ally. While she had relished in the thrill of it all. 

And this thing between her and Hux was perhaps the ultimate thrill. The mixture between desire and danger making her feel intensely alive. She was becoming addicted to that feeling. Like an addict with his next fix she needed just a little bit more every time. 

As they crossed the Victorinox’ empty corridors, something strange caught her eye. Unlike the impeccable clean floors of the Finalizer, there were small amounts of dust here and there. Perhaps Hux’ insistence on a spotless ship was not typical for the Order after all or… as another thought crossed her mind she could feel horror rise up in her. 

“Hux,” her voice must have held some of her feelings, because he immediately halted, turning towards her in question. Selene went to her knees, her hand shaking more than a little bit, as she touched the next little dust heap on the floor. The little yellow particles on her fingers looked only too familiar, reminding her uncomfortably of the dried out corpses in the medbay. 

She raised her fingers in her Co-Commanders direction, as she got up again. “Please tell me you have a harmless explanation for this, that doesn’t involve getting your life sucked out of you.” 

“Oh kriff,” one of the troopers in the corridor with them exclaimed with a little panic in his voice. “they are all dead and those dust heaps are all that is left of them.” 

“That remains to be seen. We will have to analyze this,” the General’s voice was admirable calm under the circumstances, but for a moment a deep unease flickered in his eyes. “As long as nothing is confirmed, there is no need to freak out.” 

Selene was frantically trying to wipe her fingers on her armor, the yellow flakes clinging to her skin, nausea in her stomach at the thought that the probability was high, that it had been all that remained of a human being.  
“No need to freak out? Believe me, I am freaking out here.” 

A shudder went through her and for a moment she was afraid she needed to throw up. To her immense surprise, Hux stepped closer to her, his hand coming up to slowly stroke her arm in support. 

Despite the macabre situation or perhaps because of it - stars, if this wasn’t a moment to crave a little human contact, than she didn’t know what was - she couldn’t help lean into his touch, the warmth of it strangely comforting. His eyes widened a little and she realized the gesture had been instinctual. 

“Sergeant, there is a research kit in my shuttle, make sure the necessary samples are taken.”  
When her Co-Commander saw that she had composed herself again, he nodded in the direction of the bridge. “Perhaps we can find out more about what happened here on the command bridge. We should have access to all data there.” 

When they reached the bridge, there were already half a dozen troopers bustling around, trying to activate the systems again.  
“Careful with the Commander’s access,” Hux reminded his soldiers. “Captain Orea might have activated the security protocols.” 

Selene slowly looked around, nothing seemed amiss here, she thought. If not for the gruesome find in the corridor, it all looked, as if the crew could return any moment.

Suddenly a gust of wind caressed her neck, making some hairs stand up with its cold kiss. She absentmindedly tamed them down again. A gust of wind … only she was on a battle ship in the middle of space. There was no wind here. 

Selene quickly turned around, her heart pounding. What had that been? Another breeze caressed her hair, as if it was tugging her somewhere. She followed the pull to the Commander’s console, narrowing her eyes. Something seemed to be glittering below it. Bending down to get a closer look, she realized there were some small blue pearls caught in the farthest edge. Some kind of jewelry perhaps?

“Hey,” she asked the closest trooper. “do you have one of the containers for the samples?” 

“Yes, of course, Commander.” She recognized his voice as the one, who had asked her about her armor earlier. He passed her a container, coming closer to see what she was doing. 

“So this is your first mission?” she inquired, as she carefully angled the container to catch the small blue pearls without touching them. She did not want to contaminate the sample. “What’s your name? And please, not those number combinations, I’m awful at getting them right.”

“Oh, it’s Pip,” he murmured. “Although I am probably not supposed to tell you that. Since you are the Commander and all.” 

“There you are!” Selene held the transparent container up to the light, scrutinizing her find. The pearls were shining in an intense blue glow. She softly shook them. Strange, they seemed kind of gelatinous. “Don’t worry, Pip. It will stay between you and me.” 

Suddenly the pearls flashed with light, a burning cold so intense that it hurt, running through Selene’s fingers. She couldn’t help a little yelp, letting the container drop to the floor. Unfortunately, her sudden reaction startled the young trooper next to her, prompting him to make a step backwards, his hand hitting the commander’s console as he fought for balance. 

For a moment nothing happened, then the doors to the bridge slid close with a bang, a shrill alarm tone rising. A big red number had appeared on the console screen. 

“Oh,” Pip exclaimed in shock. ”That doesn’t look good.” 

“What have you done?” Hux had appeared next to them, his fingers immediately flying over the console. “Self-destruct mode has been initiated as a security measure due to unauthorized access.” The General glared at the young stormtrooper. ”I gave the order not to touch this.” 

“It was an accident, I startled him.” Selene interjected, her heart pounding in her chest, as she saw the time going down on the screen. Three more minutes. “Can’t you do anything about this?”

Hux gave her an annoyed look. “We will just have to put in the matching security codes from my datapad and deactivate it.” He reached inside one of his coat pockets and suddenly stilled, the first signs of unease on his face. “I must have left it on the shuttle.” 

Because he had gone after her in anger. Oh, this wasn’t good, this wasn’t good at all.  
“Sergeant,” Hux ordered. “Contact the Finalizer’s command bridge. They can transfer the security codes to us.”

“Negative, sir. Self-destruct mode must have activated a jammer that is preventing all communication out of this room.” 

Two more minutes left. Selene felt sweat start to trickle down her neck. She looked under the console searching for any wires. “Can’t we deactivate it manually, somehow?”

Her Co-Commander shook his head, still quite calm, despite the situation.  
“There are explosives connected to it all over the ship. You would never deactivate all of them in time.” 

They were going to die, she thought. They were going to die, because she had to pick up those stupid blue pearls or because she had to provoke Hux again. Or both. 

“What was the exact day the Victorinox vanished?” he asked her.

“What?”

“You came onboard the Finalizer three weeks ago. The Victorinox disappeared at the same time.” Her Co-Commander had closed his eyes, clearly thinking. “The codes change once a week. Meaning Orea has most likely used the codes from four weeks ago. And the third code is…” He opened his eyes, his face determined. “Okay, I’ve got it.”

“You’ve got it? You remember a code from four weeks ago?” 

“I always memorize the codes as a security measure.” A self-satisfied smile played around his lips at her obvious disbelief. “I have a very good memory for numbers.” 

Hux bent forward, intent in typing the code into the console. Selene quickly grabbed his gloved hand, before he could do so.

“Wait, how many numbers are in that code?” There was no way, he could really remember that correctly, was there? The console had counted down to one minute. “What will happen if you get it wrong?”

“Sixteen,” he answered, still infuriatingly calm. He sneaked his other arm behind her, starting to type. “I guess, you will just have to trust in me.” 

A very clever person had once said, that at the end of your life you regret the things you haven’t done more, than the things you have done. And Selene realized she did have a few regrets after all. 

It would probably be a little too desperate, if she asked him to kiss her now, would it? Because, if this were really her last seconds in this galaxy, she could admit to herself, that she wanted to know what he tasted like. 

“Don’t worry,” Hux’ voice was low in her ear. “there is one explosive directly under the bridge. It is unlikely we would even feel a thing.”

A triple beeping sounded from the console, the countdown stopping at thirty seconds.

“Well, Commander, it seems we will live to see another day.” 

There was a lot of amusement in her Co-Commander’s clear green eyes, a real smile on his face for once. It made him appear a lot younger, nearly boyish. Adrenaline still high in her veins, Selene could not help stare at his full lips. A knowing glint appeared in his eyes. She felt heat rise in her cheeks, how much of her thoughts in the last minutes had been visible on her face? 

“You know, it’s cute,” his gloved fingers slowly tugged a lock of her hair out of her face. ”as reckless as you are, you panic, if your life is in someone else’s hands for once.”  
That was a very astute observation. 

If someone ever asked her, she would have to cite this at her lowest point, she realized. The subtle scent of kriffing First Order regulation soap she could smell on him made her head spin, tendrils of desire igniting in her belly again. Although it was mixed in with the cool smell of rain and leather that seemed to be completely him. 

Trying to salvage at least a little of her pride, she scoffed. “I wouldn’t call it panic. I was merely a little …agitated.”

Hux just raised his eyebrow, looking down on his other hand, that she still held in a death grip. She quickly let go of it, making a step backwards. 

Stars, she needed to clear her head. Under any other circumstances the perfect way to do so and to celebrate that she was still alive, would be a wild and sweaty session with a hot guy between the sheets. 

Selene could not help glancing at her Co-Commander again, who was chastising poor Pip now. Oh, she was sure he would be game, if she insinuated it, but unfortunately, he was the biggest part of her problem. 

She bend down to pick up the container with those damn blue pearls again.

Well, than there was only one other possibility.  
“I need a kriffing drink tonight.” 

“Okay Higgs, listen, I know how you just love to lord your minuscule amount of power over us.”  
Masir leaned closer to the tall and sallow lieutenant in front of the entrance to the Officer’s lounge with an angry look on his face. 

“Masir.” Opan cautioned him, knowing as well as the captain that Peavey’s crony would not hesitate to file an official complaint, if he crossed the line. 

Higgs gave them a cold stare. “No exceptions. The lounge is only for officers, not stormtroopers.” 

Masir tried to keep his calm, slowly pointing at Tank, who was waiting with Mitaka, Javan and Tosla a few meters down the corridor, and enunciating every word. “Yes, but he is a sergeant.” 

“A stormtrooper sergeant.” Higgs’ face remained impassive.

“You little…”

“Anything the matter here?” a melodious voice interrupted them from inside the door. Clad in a dress of white cherry blossoms blowing in an unseen wind, their Zi’daya Commander looked quite splendid. As Higgs tried to explain the regulation to her, she just waved him off, motioning them all inside. “They belong with me. Or do you want to deny me access to the lounge, Lieutenant?”

Briseis behind her, gave Masir a small wink, her eyes twinkling, beautiful as always in a pale blue skirt and a matching blouse. She guided him through the lounge in the direction of the Zi’daya table, where her friends were already seated. 

With a little amusement, Masir realized that Sa’onserei had dragged Tank directly to the bar, obviously inviting him to a round of shots to celebrate the survival of today’s ordeal and donning three without a pause herself. The normally stoic giant looked a little overwhelmed, not yet used to her exuberant ways. 

“What is up with her?” he asked Briseis, who had sat down next to him, her leg sliding against his under the table. So it was going to be one of those evenings. 

Since that first time on holo night she was playing some kind game with him, one night teasing him with small touches, that made him hope they would end up tangled in his bed the same night and the next so aloof, that he feared he had done something wrong. While it had been fun at the beginning, he would admit that he was starting to feel a little confused. Something was very obviously holding her back. Blast it, he had never felt so kriffing unsecure around a woman. But then it had never meant quite as much ever before, so there was that. 

The blonde Zi’daya let her eyes wander to her friend. “She has been like that since she returned from the Victorinox.” She shuddered. “That reminds me of that night in the White Whampa.” 

“I can’t even remember a thing about that night in the White Whampa. Probably a protection mechanism of my poor brain,” Khi’sheko interjected. He threw a glance at Be’amara who had grabbed Tosla in a welcome kiss that seemed to go on for over a minute. 

”Hey, Be’amara, you want to let the poor man breath again on one point?” he commented, making the brown-eyed pilot laugh and Tosla blush furiously. 

“Really, Kara,” Shi’seko said with a frown looking around the otherwise sedate lounge. Their table did stand out like a sore thumb, since on all the others there were only two or three people talking in subdued voices, some kind of low volume lounge music playing in the background. “Can you at least try to appear professional?” 

“Shots for everyone!”with a loud clang, Sa’onserei put down a tray with shot glasses and a bottle of Corellian brandy on the middle of the table. Kara merely raised a sarcastic eyebrow at Shi’seko. Tank had arrived with her, giving Masir an apologetic shrug. ”I thought it would be a good idea to get her back to the table.” 

Sa’onserei began to fill the glasses with a generous amount of liquid, sliding one to everyone at the table.  
“Don’t try to wiggle out of that one, you two,“ she waved an admonishing finger at Opan and Masir. “Don’t think, I don’t know what you did this morning. Sending me up to the bridge like that.” 

The Informations officer sipped on his glass with a small smile playing around his mouth. “I suppose you had fun?”

To Masir’s surprise the Commander hesitated, a vivid blush appearing on her cheeks. “That is one way to call it,” she murmured. Interesting. It seemed Baska had not exaggerated after all, when he had claimed their two Commanders had become more than a little close on the Command Bridge. 

When Shi’seko made no move to drink his shot, Sa’onserei gave him a look. “Drink. That’s an order, Captain.” 

“I am still angry at you for going over to the Victorinox all alone,” despite his words, the Zi’daya captain downed the glass in one go and to Masir’s surprise immediately filled it up again. 

“I was not alone, Hux was with me.” The Zi’daya heir pointed out with a nonchalant shrug.  
The look on Shi’seko’s face very clearly said, that only made it worse.

Briseis sighed next to him. ”Puh, this is really depressing. What I would give for some good music.” 

“At your service, milady.” Khi’sheko grasped behind him, drawing out a guitar. He gave Briseis  
a cheeky smile. “Are you up for it? Just like old times?” The blonde hesitated for a moment, but then she laughed, giving him a nod. Masir felt an odd unease go through him at the intense look the two of them exchanged. Khi’sheko was happily married, wasn’t he? 

Khi’sheko let his fingers strum over the instrument, quickly delving into a well-known melody.  
“Hey brother, there’s an endless road to rediscover.”  
His voice was a smooth baritone, warm and silky.

“Hey sister, know the water’s sweet but blood is thicker.”  
What made every hair on his body stand up though, was the voice of the pretty woman next to him, as she joined him, the sound so clear and rich that it touched directly to his heart.  
Her face seemed to shine, as she sang.

“Oh, if the sky comes falling down for you.”

“Oh,” Sa’onserei jumped up, her movements excited. “I love that song. “  
She turned around and reached out her hand to Shi’seko. “Dance with me, Khendrik.” 

“There’s nothing in this world I wouldn’t do.” 

Masir realized that he still did not understand the Zi’daya as well as he thought. Because the usually stern sworn protector put his glass on the table, laughed “Should we show them how it is done?” and dipped her so quickly, that her hair nearly brushed the floor. 

And then he proceeded to twirl her around to the music in way that made everyone in the room stare at them openmouthed, Sa’onserei’s feet leaving the ground every few seconds as he lifted her up, her dress and hair swirling wildly around her. Blast it, and he had thought he was a passable dancer.

Masir had not much time to worry about that though, because before he could stop her, Briseis had grabbed his hand and dragged him to dance as well, as the next song started. For the next few minutes, he lost himself in the exhilarating feeling of her body close to his and those turquoise eyes shining at him in joy. 

“What in the blazes of the universe, do you think you are doing?” General Hux’ voice cut through the boisterous atmosphere like a knife. “You are aware that is an Officer’s Lounge of the First Order and not some seedy Outer Rim Night Club. Captain Trach, I don’t have to remind you of regulation 321b.“ 

Eyes narrowed in anger, his voice cold and admonishing Hux did not seem to find their impromptu party very amusing. Nice to be singled out again, Masir thought. Why always him and never Opan and Mitaka? At least Briseis covertly pressed his hand in support. 

Fortunately, the General seemed satisfied with a few chastising words, turning around and exiting through the door, leaving an uncomfortable silence in his wake. The Galatean wondered how long he had been watching them. 

He threw a look at Sa’onserei, a little surprised that she had not immediately fired up at Hux’ interruption. But there was no anger at all on her face. No, the way her eyes shone, as she looked after the General, a wild glint appearing in them, reminded him more of a loth-cat on the prowl, who had just discovered there was a particular juicy mouse in the grass. 

That was why, when she claimed to have a headache and needing to leave for the Zi’daya ship a few minutes later, he was not surprised. 

It was probably the worst attempt at subterfuge he had ever heard. 

Masir saw Briseis look after her friend in concern. “You think she is going after him?”  
The blonde shook her head in dismay. “Sure as hell she is.”

As Selene walked through the Finalizer’s corridors, she could not help a small giggle escape her. She was just the right amount of tipsy to find her own plans completely brilliant without it impeding their execution. And she did plan to pay her Co-Commander a visit after his abrupt departure from the lounge. He still owed her a drink after all. She would even be so accommodating and bring the drinks. 

Stepping onto the Evenfall, she quickly made her way to her quarters and dug out a bottle of wine out of its hiding place under her bed. Uncle Osai’s finest. Nice. 

The way to the Finalizer’s officer quarters was unfortunately quite far and it sobered her up a bit. Her own image in the lift’s mirror made her stop for a moment. There was a distinct flush to her cheeks and her hair was flowing wildly around her shoulders from the dance with Khendrik. With the bottle of wine in her hands, she did indeed look a little like she was aiming for a seduction. Not that she was really planning anything of that kind. She only wanted to talk a little. 

But was it really common sense that held her back? Or only her pride, her not wanting to be the first of the two of them to cave? Was there some small part of her that thought, if she could just get him to snap first, she could not be blamed for anything that happened?

Arriving at the floor reserved for the highest-ranking officers of the Order onboard the Finalizer, Selene realized that she did not actually know, where Hux’ quarters were located. The first trooper she met in the corridor took one look at her and pointed at the door at the very end. That it was so obvious, where she wanted to go, should probably have made her pause. 

Before she could question herself, she had knocked on the General’s door two times. There was such a long silence on the other side she feared he was not in at all. Then quick, decisive steps sounded and Hux opened the door with an annoyed “Yes”. 

Selene had actually planned to lord his slip-up from earlier over him and greet him with a very nonchalant ‘Good evening, Armitage.” At his sight, it turned into a more than a little breathless version of his name. 

For a moment, she honestly thought that trooper had played her and sent her to the wrong door. For the first time since they had met, Hux was not in uniform. Instead he was wearing black training pants and a matching shirt that clung to his body in quite an interesting way. And no shoes. Who would have thought that her Co-Commander was hiding that under his uniform? While he wasn’t as build as some of those stormtroopers, the lean strength of his body made her heartrate pick up again. 

“Commander?” he gave her a very surprised look. Selene became aware that she had been standing in his door, staring, without saying another word for quite a while. 

She slowly raised the bottle in her hand, as if it explained her visit. “Wine? To drink?”

Wow, that had been eloquent. But her eyes had caught on the way his hair fell into his face without any product in it for once, the fiery strands looking soft and practically begging for her touch. She realized, he had come directly from out of the shower. A few residue drops of water pearled from his hair into the collar of his shirt. Her gaze followed the movement, as it drew her attention to the freckles on his collarbone that were normally hidden. She absentmindedly wondered how many more there were under his clothes. 

Three seconds, she calculated, it would take to put that bottle of wine on the floor, grab him and press him against the door. Two, if she could live with dumping the wine.

Instead, she used his obvious confusion to duck under his arm and invite herself inside his quarters. And people said she had no self-control. She had plenty. Stars, she could give kriffing lessons on self-control. 

Selene was quite surprised by the sight of the General’s rooms. She had expected something cold and impersonal like his office. While the floor and walls were the typical dark First Order colors, he had added a few personal items that hinted at nuances of his personality she had not discovered yet. The really modern, ice blue sofa in the middle of the room. And an interesting piece of art on one wall that caught her interest. 

She deliberately ignored the console at the desk in one corner of the room. She would not think about that tonight. The door at the other end probably let to his bedroom. 

“Commander Sa’onserei,” Hux’ voice held his usual exasperated tone, when he said her name. “It is highly improper to come here at this time…” He had closed the door, though, she noticed.

“Funny, are we back to Sa’onserei now?” After her initial surprise, she had thankfully found some of her composure again. “I can distinctly remember you calling me by my first name earlier.” 

“That was an unfortunate slip-up, that won’t happen again,” his face carefully composed, he gave her a long look, something like suspicion raising up in his eyes. “What are you doing here?”

“You still owe me a drink, remember? And since you seem incapable of providing it, I thought I would come to you.” Selene gave him a smile over her shoulder, as she slowly wandered through the room. “You should get us some glasses.”

His green eyes still fixed on her, as if she would be doing something nefarious the moment he let her out of his sight, he reluctantly went to one of the black cupboards on the wall. Pulling out two glasses and a corkscrew, the General dryly commented. “I don’t have to tell you how this will look like from the outside? You, at my personal quarters, in the middle of the night. The troopers stationed in the corridor will sent the rumor mill running.” 

“I don’t give a damn about what people say,” Selene answered honestly. There had been so many rumors about her in her life, that she had given up on caring about it long ago. What interested her more was the way his movements had let those pants slip down his hips a little more baring a small sliver of pale skin. She was quite sure she could see some ginger hair leading down to… 

“That may be.” Hux took the bottle out of her hands to open it, tearing her out of the perilous path her thoughts were following. “But it could put you in danger to have your name linked with mine in that way.” 

Selene accepted one of the glasses from him and gave him a look over its rim. “Mmmh, I am starting to think that I have been in danger since the moment I set foot on your ship, General.” 

Hux had to look away at the blatant flirtation in his Co-Commander’s eyes, his heartbeat more than a little unsteady. If he was honest to himself, he felt like his control was slipping since the moment she had knocked on his door looking like that with a bottle of wine in her hands. 

The ironic thing was, he had actually gone to the Officer’s lounge against his normal habits this evening with the intention to buy her a drink, having heard her little comment on the Victorinox earlier. But when he arrived there, it had been to the sight of Selene dancing with Captain Shi’seko. Her glorious hair tumbling over her shoulders, bright joy on her face as the captain twirled her around, she had looked so vibrantly alive, it had touched something inside him he had thought long dead. 

He had watched her having fun with her friends and his officers with more than a little jealousy in his heart. He was only too aware he would never fit in this circle, the fact making him lash out against his better judgment. He would have thought himself beyond such pathetic wishes to belong, but it seemed there were still weaknesses he could not shake. 

“That is an interesting piece of art,” Sa’onserei had wandered through the room, sipping on her wine. Hux glanced at it, the always-moving waves in a thousand shades of blue ranging from turquoise to dark grey suspended in the air by ingenious technology. Like his thoughts, in constant turmoil. 

“A present by the leader of the Tah’Nuhna.”  
Even after destroying their planet, he had kept it, something about it keeping his interest. A reminder of their foolishness perhaps. An insectoid race of scholars and thinkers famous for their neutrality, until they had decided to help the Resistance. 

He could remember ice crunching under his boots as he had made his way into the Tah’Nuhna palace. The thick coat of frozen wasteland around the capitol had made a complete orbital bombardment impossible, forcing him to deploy ground forces in the end. He had always despised those missions, as they tended to get messy. 

As the city had fallen around them, the old Tah’nuhna leader had silver crystals leaking out of his beady eyes, the tears of his species. Hux had told him it was far too late for tears now. “I am not crying for myself,” he had answered. ”I am an old one and have lived my life. I am crying for the young of my people who will never get a chance to experience theirs. And for yours, General, because what is life without a soul?” The words had resonated in his head for a while, even if he had pushed them away, when he had ordered to raze the palace to the ground. 

They shouldn’t have helped the Resistance. 

Sa’onserei threw a look at him, but didn’t comment. Which meant she was up to something, because she normally wouldn’t let such a prime opportunity to lecture him on the evil of planetary destruction go. 

She made her way to the sofa, her body slightly brushing his as she passed him.  
He was such a fool, wasn’t he? She was obviously here on some mission of seduction for either the Zi’daya or Organa herself. 

He should put a stop to this immediately. Or he could let this go on and see where it was leading. His body very enthusiastically preferred the latter option. 

“Oh, there you are. Aren’t you a beauty,” Selene’s admiring voice was the only warning he got, that she had discovered Millicent. 

“Oh, you shouldn’t…” But instead of taking a swipe at their visitor, as he had expected, his cat only sniffed Saonserei’s finger in welcome, letting her scratch her behind her ear. 

“She likes you.” Hux heard the astonishment in his own voice. Millie had the tendency to viciously scratch any stranger in his quarters. He had once made the mistake of bringing Kandia here. The ginger tabby had turned in a snarling wildcat; it had taken hours to calm her down again. 

“Of course, she does.” The Zi’daya gave him a very regal look. “Cats are excellent judges of character.” She sat down on the sofa, scooping up Millicent to lay on her lap. “And this one is a queen.” The cat immediately began to purr, as she petted her lovingly. 

An hour later, Hux wasn’t so sure any more about his earlier assessment of his Co-Commander’s intentions. Because, if she was planning to seduce him she was doing it in a very unconventional way. 

By telling him stories out of her life and getting more than a little drunk while doing it. 

Selene bend over the table in front of them to grab the wine bottle and empty the last drops in their glasses. Millicent on her lap gave a disapproving sound at being jostled and jumped to the ground. Hux narrowed his eyes at the cat, who had been ignoring him all evening. A traitor. Reeled in by the Zi’daya charms like everyone else it seemed. 

“You are sure you should be drinking any more of that?” he asked, watching the flush on his guest’s high cheekbones and the brightness in her eyes. 

She laughed. “Probably not.” She leaned back a little on the sofa, laying her head on one arm in a playful way, as she fixed her gaze on him. “But then I am doing a lot of things lately, I should not be doing.” 

Her fingers played over the blue fabric of the sofa, perilously close to his leg. When had they actually gotten this close? He distinctly remembered having sat down at the other end of the sofa with quite a distance between them. 

“I have not properly thanked you for saving my life today,” Selene murmured. “That was kind of impressive. You really have a memory for numbers it seems.” 

“I also saved my own.” Hux answered, not keen on dwelling on the topic. 

She wouldn’t be as impressed, if she knew how he had come by this particular ability. More horrified. Memory training had been on the curriculum of one of Brendol Hux’ favorite instructors. Nothing like earning an electric charge through your body for every mistake in order to quickly develop one’s skills. The bad thing had not been the pain itself, no more the nights after, when the aftershocks seized him for hours. He had taken more than a little pleasure in getting rid of that man, after he had become head of the stormtrooper training. 

He downed the rest of his wine, eager to get the memory out of his head. 

“I have been talking about Ellesmee a lot. Do you remember anything about Arkanis?” his Co-Commander’s voice was soft. “You were quite young, when you left, weren’t you?”

He remembered warm hands touching his face. A soft voice singing to him. And terrified green eyes. But those were private memories. 

“Five years old. But I suspect you already read all of that in a report already.” 

“Perhaps. But I prefer to get my own impression,” her golden eyes were intent. 

“I remember the sea. It was always there. A constant. Sometimes calm and inviting, more often stormy and wild,” so much like the woman in front of him.  
Another memory crossed his mind, making him smile. “We had a game as children. Arkanis’ oceans are full of the most fantastical creatures. We would tell each other, which one we resemble most.” 

“And which one would I be?” she slid a little lower on the sofa, her white hair fanning out behind her in soft waves, brushing along his hand. His heart hammering in his chest, Hux let one lock twirl around his fingers slowly. Without his gloves on, it felt as soft, as he had imagined.

“A naga, I think,” those golden eyes were blazing again, her breath more than a little shallow. “Beautiful and dangerous.” 

Belatedly, he thought that she might not find the comparison to a deadly sea monster all that flattering, but Selene’s eyes twinkled and she laughed. “With many pointed teeth?”

She sighed softly. “Before I forget it. I had an idea today, how we may make progress on the mission.” 

For a moment, the General found it hard to recall which mission she was even talking about. “Oh, yes, how? I had the samples be taken to the Finalizer’s lab; we can have a look at the results tomorrow.”

“I will explain it then, it’s slightly complicated. I need to be a little more sober than tonight.”  
She gave him a languid smile, shifting down even more so that her head touched the sofa’s seat, her fingers trailing along his arm. “I might have found a pattern in the attacks. We could predict the enemy’s movement that way. It might be dangerous, though.” 

Like some small asteroid caught by a bigger star’s gravity Hux followed her pull nearly helpless against it. His arm came to rest over her head nearly caging her in underneath him. Her eyes looked up at him in a way that challenged him to keep going. One of her legs slowly moved against his, bringing his body closer to hers. 

He needed to stop this. But he couldn’t.

“Well, then it is good, that we are both not afraid of a little danger,” he whispered the words against the skin of her neck, his lips slowly following his breath. Her head went back with a heady sigh at the touch, her eyes closing. Desire blazed through him so wildly that it threatened to burn everything in its path. Blast the consequences, he would…

With a bang the wine bottle fell of the table, shattering in a thousand pieces, Millicent sitting next to the wreckage with one paw still raised. 

“What…” Selene’s eyes opened wide in shock. She immediately scrambled of the sofa, her haste to put some distance between them again, so big, that she nearly fell.

“The time…it’s late. I have to go,” before Hux could react, she was out of the door, basically fleeing, leaving him behind with a wrecked room and his body still longing for her touch. 

“You did that on purpose, didn’t you?” he asked Millicent, not sure, if he should be disappointed or relieved, that they had been interrupted. 

He could swear that cat was laughing at him. 

“Do you want something else to drink?” Masir turned to Briseis with a questioning look in his hazel eyes. She nodded at him and let him take her hand, guiding her in direction of the bar.

While the atmosphere was not as wild as before, some more of the Zi’daya crew members had arrived and in their typical fashion more or less taken over the room, the lounge filled with a lot more laughter than usual. Rine and Peeta had joined Shima in providing the music, the three of them often playing together on their ship as well.

As they crossed the room, Briseis saw her brother dancing with Lanzora Goran in one corner. Mmmh interesting. She had noticed a few times before, that the petite and pretty lieutenant liked to hang around Khendrik. It was possibly a good sign, that her brother started to notice other woman again, but then she was not in the mood to coddle him in the moment, not after the way he kept harassing her every time he saw her with Masir. She would definitively use this as leverage at a later date.

Just before they reached the bar the First Order captain suddenly swerved to the right taking her to a secluded alcove providing some privacy. Briseis felt herself getting a little nervous, she had an inkling she knew, where this was going. 

“Listen,” Masir drew a hand through his hair, obviously a lot more fidgety, than she was used to. “you know that I like you. But if you want me to stop, if I’m making you uncomfortable, just say it. I’m a big boy I can deal with a little rejection. Because this hot and cold thing is starting to make me a little bit crazy here,” there was more than a little desperation in those warm brown eyes. 

Part of her had known that leading him on was not particularly fair and a situation like that was bound to happen sooner or later. But to be honest it had just been so nice to feel wanted again. And by a handsome man like him to boot.  
“No, No!” she did not want him to think he had done anything wrong. ”That’s not it. I just can’t…”

“Is this because of Shima?” Oh, wow. Briseis had to take a step back in surprise. Her First Order Captain was a lot more perceptive, than she had thought. 

“What? Stars,no!” and it just figured that for the first time in years, that was the complete truth. When she had looked at her childhood friend earlier she had felt love, yes, but the warm comforting embers she felt for all her friends, not the exciting swooping feeling of being in love. Because as wrong and ill-fated as it was she was starting to fall for the man standing in front of her. That was an utter catastrophe. 

Her conflicting feelings must have shown on her face, because Masir’s hand came up slowly, warm fingers trailing along her cheek. “Briseis.” 

She could drown in that warmth so easily. The revelation that she was already in far too deep making her head spin, she leaned forward to press her lips to his. After a second of surprise, Masir’s mouth moved against hers passionately, sending shockwaves through her body, as he engulfed her in his heat. 

For a long moment, Briseis gave in to the attraction between them, then she turned her head away reluctantly. She felt panic well up in her. What was she doing? She had to get out of here immediately. Making a decisive step backwards out of his arms, part of her already bemoaning the loss of his touch, she tried to turn her voice cold.  
“Do you really think I just want to be the next naïve Outer Rim girl, who fell for your charms, Captain Trach?”

Not waiting for the shock on his face to make way for questions, the blonde Zi’daya whirled around quickly. Where in the blazes of the galaxy was Elodia?

She finally found her quite cozy with Mitaka on one of the lounge’s sofas, the brown-eyed lieutenant blushing furiously, when Briseis bent over them without warning and dragged her friend with her. To Elodia’s credit she took one look at her friend’s face and just said. ”I will see you tomorrow Dopheld,” giving him a quick wave. 

“What happened?” she asked, concern in her voice, as they left the lounge. Briseis shook her head, the Finalizer’s dark floors seemingly endless to her agitated mind.  
“Not here.” 

When they finally reached the Evenfall, Elodia took her hand and guided her to the kitchen. A few minutes later, she sat at the table, a hot caf in her hands. Thank the stars for friends. 

“Now, spill,” the dark-skinned woman commanded, her eyes curious. Briseis stared in her caf, as if it could provide her with some answers. “I made a terrible mistake. I kissed Masir. I didn’t plan to, but it just kind of happened.” 

Elodia sighed and patted her arm in support. “Oh, but is that really so bad? You like him, don’t you? And I feared something awful had happened to you.” 

“Not so bad? Are you forgetting we are still on a mission? We…” a sudden noise outside the room interrupted them. 

Briseis eyes narrowed. “Oh, guess who is returning.” She gave Elodia a look. “Turn of the light, quick.”

Sitting in the darkened kitchen the two friends listened in amusement, as Selene bumped into more than one corner, as she inconspicuously tried to return to her room. 

“I see you have miraculously recovered, Sel. Your head feeling better?” Briseis called out after a while, making Selene shriek in surprise. “By Rhea’s bloody starship, do you want to kill me? What are you two doing, sitting in the dark like two sith lords?” 

She turned on the lights again, making all three of them blink in the sudden brightness. Briseis scrutinized her fair-haired friend. With her hair a wild mess around her shoulders and her movements jerky she did look more than a little tipsy. Though not as if she had been out of that dress this evening, thank the stars for small mercies.

Sitting down at the table, Selene stole Brisei’s caf, taking a sip with a small sigh. “So where have you been, Sel? I thought you wanted to go to bed?” Elodia said innocently, getting up to make another caf. 

“Oh, I was just trying to…you know…”

“Cut the bantha crap, Selene. We both know, where you have been,” the Zi’daya pilot gave her friend a hard stare. Of all the irresponsible things she could do. 

“Although since we are your friends, we don’t judge.” Elodia sat down two more cafs in front of them, now throwing a look at Briseis herself that seemed to indicate, that she should keep her calm. 

Fiddling with her cup Selene, bit her lip. “I know that might be a little hard to understand, but you know the thing is: Hux is like an onion.”  
Briseis raised an eyebrow. ”You mean, he makes people cry?”  
“No,” with the conviction of someone who just drank a little too much, Selene’s hands fluttered through the air above the table animatedly, “he has those different layers. I want to peel them back, one by one.”  
“What? You want to undress him?” Briseis said with a little shock in her voice.  
“No!” Selene buried her face in her hands, murmuring something that sounded suspiciously like ”yes” and “I don’t know.” 

Elodia soothingly patted her shoulder. ”Let’s play a little game.” Her brown eyes were mischievous. “Would you actually sleep with Hux, if there were no consequences?”

“With no consequences? You mean nobody would ever find out?” Selene’s eyes turned more than a little dreamy, a blush rising in her cheeks. “Yes,” she breathed. 

“I can’t kriffing believe it,” Briseis shook her head. “You can’t be serious.” 

“That doesn’t mean anything.” The Zi’daya heir blinked, clearly wanting to take back her answer. “Without consequences there are many people I would sleep with in a second.”

“Okay sure, name one. In the whole galaxy.” Briseis said with a challenging smile. 

Selene opened her mouth and closed it again, clearly thinking. As the silence went on, only interrupted by her perking up once in a while, as if she had thought of a name, only to stare in her cup again, Elodia turned to Briseis. “I don’t know, if this is disturbing or funny. I mean it took her one millisecond to say she would sleep with Hux, but she can’t come up with one other name in the whole kriffing galaxy.” 

“Zack Wanderbuilt.” Selene called out with a satisfied smile. 

“You hate Zack Wanderbuilt,” her blonde friend scoffed.

“Fine,” Selene rolled her eyes. “then Poe Dameron. I would totally bang Dameron. Or that cute guy that is working in that coffee shop near the lab. Levin or something.” 

Elodia frowned a little. “Uhuh, I think his name is actually Marvin.”

“Whatever.” Their friend got up; making a small side step, as she nearly lost her balance. “That is a stupid game. I am going to bed.” 

“Hey, why are you going?” Elodia called after her. “We still have to talk about the fact that only the restrictions of societies conventions are holding you back from what you really want,” when Selene did not turn around, she looked at the woman next to her. “That is your problem as well, you know. You think too much.” 

Briseis scowled at her. “Easy for you to say. As you are all tangled up with Mitaka without a care for what happens next.”

“Oh, I wished that was really the case.” 

“You don’t want to tell me, nothing has actually happened between Mitaka and you?”

“No,” Elodia shook her head in clear frustration. ”I keep hinting, but he has not even kissed me.” 

Her friend gave her a very exasperated look. “Elodia, could you please stop behaving like some damsel in distress and take matters in your own hands, then?” After the words were out of her mouth she realized, what she had said. “I mean no, of course not…” 

But the dark-skinned woman had already gotten up, skipping to the door. “You are absolutely right. Thanks for the advice, Brie!” 

Briseis let her head sink on the kitchen table. “Kriff!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * That is of course a quote by the wonderful Charlotte Bronte. I guess, Rhea was a poet ;-)  
> ** And this is of course Avicciis "Hey brother"! Such a good fit for the Zi'daya friends. 
> 
> The inspiration for Selene's shirt comes from "Games of Command" from the brilliant Linnea Sinclair. Highly recommended, if you like Sifi Romance. It has a stern admiral and a spunky captain as the leads. And cute cats ;-)
> 
> And the onion comment is of course taken out of Shrek. Don't you just love Donkey!
> 
> As always thank you for your kudos and comments!


	7. Flying the same vector

Many of the thruths that we cling to depend on our point of view. – Master Yoda 

Ducking under Tritt Opan’s outstretched arm, Armitage Hux used the other man’s momentum to throw him over his shoulder, his opponent crashing into the training room’s mat with bruising force. He immediately followed the movement with a disabeling grip over his throat, his other fist punching into the floor right next to his head. Opan waved his hand, signaling his defeat, his blue eyes a little wide. 

So far their regular morning training was not going well for the Captain. 

“Blast it, Armitage” he complained, as he slowly got up again, trying to catch his breath. “Something surely got you in a mood. That little visit from your Co-Commander last night not as satisfactory, as you hoped?” 

Hux wasn’t able to suppress a surprised look at his Informations officer at those words. He wouldn’t have thought that the fact that Selene had been at this quarters last night, would make the rounds quite that fast. 

No, not Selene, Commander Sa’onserei. He needed to remind himself to stay professional.

And Opan was right, unfortunately it had been quite a long and frustrated night after his Co-Commander had left so abruptly. 

“Spying after me, Tritt?” he asked, more than a little disgruntled. 

Opan just gave him an amused look. “It’s my job to know what is going on onboard this ship. Furthermore, it is not, as if you two are very inconspicuous.” 

Hux moved into a fighting stance again, signaling that he was ready for the next round.  
“And you surely have something to say about it. Believe me, probably nothing I have not told myself already.” 

Opan’s eyes turned questioning, as he faced him again. “And what would that be?”

His Commander attacked without warning, his fist nearly fast enough to get under the captain’s defences right at his opening move. “That she was there on some kind of mission for the Resistance.” 

Hux leaned back to evade Opan’s counter. “What I don’t understand though, is why she fled so suddenly, instead of following through with it. Perhaps some last second nerves.”

Or, he thought with a sudden feeling of nausea, she had realized that she could not stomach his touch after all. There had been some kind of horror on her face, as she dashed out of the room.  
But her reaction before that had been quite different. Or was that just his wishful thinking?

Opan made a step backwards and shook his head. “While I do still suspect that Sa’onserei is supporting the Resistance, I actually don’t think she would sink that low.”

“What?” his anger at the words made Hux foot collide with his opponents stomach a little more forcefully than planned. 

The blue-eyed officer made a pained sound, nearly doubling over. He coughed. “Uff, not what you think. I meant sleeping with someone in general is not something that Sa’onserei would do just for a mission.” 

He carefully straightened again, his face still pinched. “And to be honest, if she wanted to seduce you, she would have gone about it in a very strange way. The first weeks I was more afraid you two would strangle each other.” 

“Need a little break?” Hux asked with a smug smile. He grabbed a water bottle from the side, taking a deep swallow. All of this he had told himself as well. It left one question.  
“Well, why was she there then?” 

Opan’s face took on a disbelieving look. “I’m definitely not getting paid enough for this,” he muttured to himself.  
He briefly closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, as if to gather some strength. “Now, why would a beautiful woman, who you have spent quite a lot time with in the last weeks and to be frank have obvious chemistry with, turn up at your quarters in the middle of the night with a bottle of wine?” He gave him an expectant look. 

Hux stared at him. “Wait you think, that Sa’onserei is actually attracted to me?” His voice had turned incredelous. 

The Informations officer’s indulgent smile was that of a teacher, whose pupil had finally given the correct answer after a lot of prompting. “Now, that wasn’t so hard, was it?” 

The General only stared at the training room’s wall, still trying to process the thought that his Co-Commander might feel the same pull towards him that he was feeling towards her. It wasn’t possible, was it? 

But his mind raced through every little interaction with her, painting them in quite a different light now. The teasing remarks, the little touches, the way she had reacted, when he had touched her on the bridge yesterday. How she had started to stare at his lips, when she thought he didn’t notice. The fire in those golden eyes, as he had leaned over her on his sofa.  
Oh. 

“Well,” he tried to keep his voice unaffected. “That doesn’t change anything. It would be against First Order regulations. And as you said, she is almost certainly a Resistance supporter.”

“If you say so,” Opan’s face was carefully blank.

Only it did change things. Hux was not sure he was wise enough not to try to find out, if it was true. 

He got back into a fighting stance.  
“Another round.” 

Elodia balanced two cups of caf in her hands, as she made her way to General Hux’ office. It was still some time left before the morning meeting and she had decided to pay Dopheld a little visit. 

As she had expected, he was already at his desk, gentle brown eyes concentrated on his datapad.  
“Good morning,” she smiled at him, putting his caf down on his desk. “With extra cream and cinnamon, as you like it.” She winked. “Sorry, that I had to leave so suddenly yesterday.” 

“No problem, I saw Briseis was distressed, she needed you,” the Lieutenant took a sip of his caf, sighing contendly. ”Do you know what happened? Masir returned in quite the mood as well.”

“I fear the two of them have to clear that up on their own,” the dark-skinned aide commented. As much as she liked Dopheld, she would not discuss something with him Briseis had told her in trust. 

“Well, let’s hope they do. Masir seemed really agitated, he left directly after you.” Dopheld’s eyes were a little worried. Elodia could not blame the poor Captain; her friend had probably confused the hell out of him.  
“Where is the Commander, by the way? She did not turn up at the General’s office as usual this morning,” the Lieutenant inquired. 

“Nursing her hangover,” Elodia laughed. And she suspected her friend was not yet ready to face her Co-Commander alone. “When I left, she was just trying to convince Khendrik to get her some pills from medbay against her headache. She should be fit for the morning meeting, though.” 

Dopheld took another sip of his caf. With a smile, Elodia noticed that some cream had stuck to his upper lip. 

Mmh, what was it Brie had said yesterday? She should take matters in her own hands.

She leaned over his desk with a playful look, her hand coming up to trail along his jaw.  
“You have some cream there,” she murmured, her finger slowly wiping along the bow of his lip. 

As every time before, he froze at her touch, his brown eyes very wide. But this time she did not let that stop her from crossing the remaining distance between them, her lips softly whispering against his. For a moment, he stayed impassive, then his mouth moved against her’s tentatively. Her hand wandered in his dark hair, as she continued her gentle caresses, her heart beating fast. 

After what seemed like a wonderful eternity, she moved back a little, looking at him.  
“Oh, wow,” the smile on Dopheld’s face was radiant, touching her with its warmth. 

She knew her friends would chastise her for her behavior. Tell her this was doomed from the start. And she could have let that stop her from getting close to him. 

But she would not let fear dictate her actions.  
It was the one thing she had sworn to herself, after she had escaped the spice traders. 

Fear killed as surely as any weapon. Oh, not as quickly no. But she had no illusions about her life, before she met Selene. Every day just a fight to stay alive. To kill or to be killed. The constant terror that something would happen to her brother and mother, if she didn’t comply, if she failed. 

It had gotten to her, eaten away at her soul. It might not have happened then, perhaps not even for a few years, but she knew it would have destroyed her in the end. Would have made her fail at one of those assignments. 

Life had provided her with a second chance. And she would not waste it. No, she would live it to the fullest, enjoying every little second.

She smiled back at Dopheld and leaned in for another kiss. 

Half an our later, after a very close call of getting caught kissing by Hux, that made her giggle and Dopheld nearly faint, they all sat in the meeting room. 

Selene had turned up as well, looking surprisingly bright in a black and white dress. Those pills must work miracles. Although she was unusual twitchy, a faint blush on her cheeks, as she greeted her Co-Commander. Elodia had to stifle a laugh; it had been some time since she had seen her friend so nervous around any guy. 

To her astonishment, the General was not much better, those green eyes staring at Selene with a strangely soft, puzzled expression in them every time her friend was looking somewhere else.  
It was actually kind of cute, like in one of those holodramas she and the girls liked to watch. 

Oh sure, the man came with more baggage than an old Corellian frighter out of commission had cheap spare parts, but then she used to kill people for a living, so it would be a little hypocritical, if she held it against him.  
She liked to judge people for their actions in the present and not their past. So from her side the jury was still out regarding Armitage Hux. 

“You had some kind of idea, how to predict those disappearances, Commander?” Hux inquired.  
“Oh yes,” Selene played with her braid for a moment, before shaking herself. She looked at Lanzora Goran. “Could you open the Finalizer’s Navigation system in simulation mode for me, Lieutenant?”

The Lieutenant of Navigations nodded at her, her fingers typing on her datapad. The room darkened a few shades, as starcharts appeared in the air over the table.  
“Now, when we plotted in all disappearances we know of so far, from the Zi’daya side and the First Order as well as official channels, we were unfortunately not able to identify any pattern.” Selene did so, red dots appearing that indeed did not seem to have any visible connection to each other. 

“But, I realized something. This is the Outer Rim. Home of smugglers and adventurers. There must be dozens of cases that were not even reported. Ships that vanished without any trace, nobody missing them. I tested a few variables, but the best approximation seems to be, when we assume an additional number of unreported cases of about 50%.” 

When she updated the data, a line appeared connecting the dots, shaky at some points but still a very visible course. 

There was a short silence in the room.

“Oh, you are brilliant.”  
Elodia saw more than one of the First Order crewmembers throw a surprised look at their General at his enthusiastic praise of his Co-Commander. 

Selene’s lips twitched into a pleased smile. She pointed out a few glitches here and there. “There are still some inconsistencies.” 

“Perhaps also take into account the ships’ different sizes,” Hux murmured. 

“Oh, yes. Good idea.” Her friend’s fingers flew over the datapad, making the necessary adjustments. 

Elodia was by chance just looking at Hux, as her friend started the program again, the light of the moving starcharts illuminating her features. For a split second his face was unguarded, an expression of so desperate longing on it, as he watched her, that it gave her a stab in the heart. 

Oh wow, someone got it really bad. She wondered, if Selene suspected. 

“Nearly,” the Zi’daya heir commented, a little frown on her face. “Perhaps I should change to manual calculation. As good as those simulations are they never take into account that sentient beings tend to adjust their flight routes due to personal preferences. For example nobody takes the route over Deph 47 any more, too many space pirates there.”

“You can plot manual navigations calculations on that level?” there was a definite note of respect in Hux’ voice. 

“Please, I studied under Professor Trewalna. He was of the opinion, if a computer did all our calculations then that computer should get the degree.” 

“The man who developed the hyperspatial navigation programming? I have to admit I envy you.” 

Selene gave her Co-Commander a very wide smile. He smiled back at her, his eyes warm. 

“You wouldn’t say that, if you would had to write any test in his course. The man also thought that if not at least half the students failed in a test it was not demanding enough.” 

Uh yes, those had been the worst tests ever. Without Selene’s help, Elodia would have definitely failed that course. 

An hour and a lot more of those long looks and flirty smiles later they had finally worked out a simulation that worked. 

“Selene,” as the Zi’daya returned to their ship, Khendrik gave their Commander one very hard look. “I am just going to say that once. No.” 

Her eyes widened in apparent confusion. “No, what?” 

“You know exactly what I mean. I can deal with a lot of things.” The look on his face was a little desperate. “A lot of things. But even I have my limits. So no. Definitely no.” 

As he vanished along the corridor, Selene turned to Briseis, raising an eyebrow. “You know, sometimes I am quite worried about your brother.” 

“Mmh,” Shima put an arm around his Commander’s shoulder, leaning his head against her for a moment. “It might have something to do with the little nerdy foreplay you just had going on with Hux.” He gave her a very cheeky grin, fluttering his lashes. “Anything you want to tell Uncle Shima?” 

“Little nerdy foreplay?” The Zi’daya heir said incrediously. “I definitely don’t know what you mean. And why are you suddenly so interested in that?” Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Shima! Have you been betting on me again?” 

Her second in command quickly let go of her, making a step to the side and raising his hands innocently. “Now, this is no reason to get angry, Selene.”His voice turned into a conspirational whisper. “Do you know how much money there is in that bet? You could take one for the team. We can do half and half.” Selene’s face had turned more than a little furious. “60-40?” Shima made a few more steps away from her, his voice starting to get unsure. “70-30? Come on, Samara wants to buy Becca a pony next year.”

When Selene finally had enough und started after him with a growl, Elodia laughed at Briseis.  
“He never learns, doesn’t he?” 

Dressed in a comfortable dark blue shirt and soft crème colored trousers Selene walked through the Evenfall’s corridor leading from her quarters to the ship’s entrance. Although it was already early evening, she was on her way to meet her Co-Commander in the Finalizer’s labs. He had messaged her that they could have a look at the results from the Victorinox’ samples together.

After the way last night had nearly ended, she could not help feel a little nervous at the prospect of being alone with Hux again. He had not commented on her sudden departure in the morning meeting, but of course, there had been other people present then. If they had not been interrupted, when they were, she might have actually fallen into bed with him. She liked to pretend, that she would have had enough common sense left not to let it go that far, but part of her was not so sure. Just a few drinks too many, she told herself. 

“Oh, are you coming with us to holo night today?” Briseis stopped her short, before she could leave the Evenfall.  
“No, I am actually on my way to meet Hux,” seeing her friend’s face turn into a frown, she hurriedly added. “For something completely mission related. In the labs.”  
“Selene,” there was a warning tone in the pilot’s voice.  
“Don’t worry I will behave,” the Zi’daya heir gave her a deliberately nonchalant grin. ”Come on, you know you cannot take the things I say, when I drank a little too much, seriously. I would never do anything that reckless.” 

Or to be more precise never be so stupid to get caught doing something that reckless. 

“Mmh,” Briseis did not seem to be completely convinced. Her eyes stayed serious as she regarded Selene, briefly clasping her arm as she passed her. “You know I am only worried about you, yes? I mean, it is a little unsettling, when your best friend admits to fantasizing about the guy, who blew up a whole star system.” 

Oh yes, that. She had to remind herself more often, why it was such a very bad idea to even contemplate indulging in her little weakness for the General. She would surely burn in the hells and semi hells of dozens of different beliefs all over the galaxy for it. Or be reborn as a Dagobah swamp slug in the next life. 

When she reached the lab, a white-clad assistant showed her the way through several big, bright rooms, fitted with state-of-the-art equipment. Though curiously empty of any people. 

Hux was already at work at a research station, greeting her with a short “Commander”, as he diligently put one sample after another in a genetic analysis machine. 

The first two buttons of his uniform jacket were open, showing a black shirt underneath. Selene raised an eyebrow, for her Co-Commander that was nearly racy. His gloves were off as well, she saw. She noticed, not for the first time, how long and elegant his fingers were, as she watched him work with more than a little fascination. More an artist’s or an engineer’s hands than a soldier’s, she thought.

“Don’t you have any subordinates to do that for you?” she asked. “Although the lab is quite empty I have to say. Do you have a recruiting problem in your science department? The Order not paying enough?”

Hux shook his head and activated the analysis program on the machine.  
“I thought it prudent to keep this between the two of us at the moment.” He let his gaze wander through the empty lab. “However, Ren saw it fit to relocate the Order’s Research and Development department to the Valiant a few months ago. And the two assistants left are almost certainly spying for Pryde. So I told them to leave, when you arrive.”

Ren not the Supreme Leader, Selene noted. And while his voice was carefully controlled, she knew him well enough by now to see the little signs of anger in his eyes and the way he clenched his jaw. This was a sore topic. 

“Well, then your Supreme Leader is an idiot. Why take R&D away from the man who solved the third generation hyper matter core problem?”

Hux didn’t even chastise her for her disrespectful words about his leader, a smile playing around his lips instead. “Now Sa’onserei, have you been following my work? I admit I am more than a little flattered.” 

She scoffed at him. “Don’t fish for compliments. As if, you don’t know that you are brilliant.”

To her surprise, his eyes widened a little at that, a brief look of pleasure flitting over his features. He cleared his throat. ”Well, be that as it may. We will have to make do on our own presently.”

Her Co-Commander’s face turned grave. “I already analyzed a few dozen samples,” he took a deep breath. ”Unfortunately, it is, as we have feared. I am currently at over fifty matches with the Orders internal genetic data bank.” 

“Stars,” Selene whispered, a wave of dread washing through her that forced her to sit down on the chair next to him, her legs suddenly weak. 

“What is quite curious, even if I take all the samples here and add those that we still have to get from the Victorinox, it can be no more than perhaps 400, at most 500 different remains. Not even close to the 150.000 that were onboard.” 

Selene could not decide, if she should envy Hux for the cool and composed way he could talk about his dead comrades in arms or be perturbed by it. She tried to push away her own horror and look at this rationally.

“Perhaps whatever creature or weapon killed them does not always leave something behind.” As if being dissolved into a little heap of dust was not gruesome enough. “The two corpses that we found on the First Order transporter were a lot more solid. There might be different stages depending on how much life force is taken or something like that.” 

“Mmh,” Hux nodded. “That might explain, why we did not find anything on the other ships. Although, we did not examine all of them ourselves, a little bit of dust might just have been overlooked,” he rubbed his temple. “I do fear though, it is quite likely that they are all dead.”

“To be honest, knowing what we know so far, that might actually be the kinder option. I shudder to imagine what whatever killed them, could want with anyone alive.” 

“As much as death can ever be kind,” the General’s voice sounded surprisingly rough. “And I have a feeling this was neither quick nor painless.” Selene threw another look at him, taking in the tense way he held himself. It seemed she had let the way he hid his true feelings behind a controlled mask fool her again. This did affect him after all.

“I’m sorry,” she murmured, actually meaning it. Who would have thought a few weeks ago that she would earnestly say that to Armitage Hux after the loss of a First Order battle ship?

He fiddled with his data pad in front of him. “One of the samples had a match with Captain Orea,” he said quietly. 

“She was your commanding officer during your time on the Victorinox, wasn’t she?”

“Yes.” Hux’ eyes had turned a very soft shade of green, real pain visible in them. ”I can’t help but wonder…”

Before she could stop herself, Selene’s hand had bridged the distance between them, touching his shoulder in support. He slightly relaxed under her touch. 

“She was a very admirable commander. Stern, but with clear values. She always supported me,” a wistful smile flashed over the General’s face. “Even pushed through my promotion to captain, when my father vetoed it.” 

“Wait, your own father disapproved your promotion?” Selene could not keep the disbelief out of her voice. She would have thought the man to have been ecstatic, that his son raised so quickly in the ranks. 

“He had very exacting standards,” the way Hux’s jaw clenched hinted at a lot of painful history. “And I was a continuous disappointment for him.” 

Not for the first time Selene wondered what the real story behind his father’s death was, but before she could think of a subtile way to ask him about it, he shook his head as if to clear it.

“We should have a look at those blue pearls you found,” he glanced at her hand still on his shoulder. Oh, kriff, she had let it linger a little too long for a reassuring pat. She quickly let it fall away, pretending to concentrate on the little blue pearls in the Petri dish in front of her.  
Now would probably be a good moment to address something else.

While Hux opened some results on his data pad, Selene tried to make her voice unconcerned, as if the thought had just crossed her mind. “I kind of realized that I might have been a little … over the top, yesterday evening. I hope it didn’t bother you?” She glanced at her Co-Commander, trying to judge his reaction. “It must have been the wine.”

His face stayed completely impassive, his eyes resolutely on the screen of his data pad. “I told you not to drink so much,” he only commented after a moment. 

“Now, as you can see, the analysis of the components shows some very curious results.” 

Well, if he wanted to completely ignore what happened, that was fine for her. Although she did wonder, what his excuse for his own behavior was, she did remember quite well, how his lips had trailed over her neck. 

“Carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, some minerals and something unidentifiable,” okay that was indeed strange, that was basically a blueprint for a human being. 

“Did you see another of these strange lights?” she asked Hux. 

“No,” he answered. “But I did feel a strange sort of cold, when I handled them, like you mentioned. Especially, if you take into account that the analysis shows no difference to room temperature. And there is something else.” He took two small electrodes from the research station touching them to the pearls. The gauge beat far to the right of the scale. “Definitely some kind of energy there.”

Selene’s thoughts raced. Those pearls reminded her of something, she was sure of it. 

Ah, the report Tay had sent with those old drawings of the Gann. They had shown tall, dark-robed figures bending over the small furry Gann people in menace, their mouths grotesquely opened wide. And a world covered in dust and ashes, devastation visible in the crumbling buildings between which corpses were piling high. More than a little foreboding now in lieu of the recent events. 

There had been heaps of small blue circles depicted behind the attackers as well, noticeable because they were the only things of color in the drawings. She had thought them to be some kind of treasure or jewels. But what, if they were something else entirely?

“Have you matched them against your genetic data bank as well?”

Her Co-Commander raised an eyebrow. ”So far not. You have a theory about it?” He picked up the Petri dish, beginning to separate a few pearls to prepare a sample for testing. 

“Perhaps. They might be some kind of energy reservoir,” she shuddered. “Do you have something, where we can put this in?” She motioned to the remaining blue pearls in question. “It might make sense to send those to Ellesmee to have a few more tests done in their bigger lab.” 

“There are some airtight containers in the left cabinet, the top shelf on the right,” Hux answered. Selene stood up and opened it, stretching on her tiptoes to reach the containers stacked on the very top. 

“Uff, you have to be freakishly tall to reach those,” she complained, her fingertips just missing the edge a few times.  
“Wait, I will help you.” She heard Hux get up and then his arm reached around her to grab for a container. Suddenly his body was disconcertingly close behind hers. Selene felt the by now familiar pooling of heat in her stomach at his nearness. Not able to resist the temptation she leaned back against him, earning her a sharp intake of breath at the contact.

“Selene,” her name from his lips was part admonishment, part a sigh. She smiled in satisfaction at the fact that it had not taken him even a day to slip up again. To think that at one point she had found his accent obnoxious. Now the crisp way he said her name made her shiver in anticipation. Hux’ other hand slowly came up to splay over her stomach, those long elegant fingers she had watched with fascination earlier, playing with the hem of her shirt. She let her head fall back against him, breathing in his cool scent. 

Her eyes fluttered shut with a sigh of her own, when his touch finally dipped under her shirt, burning hot along the skin of her stomach. She knew this was wrong, but it felt oh so good. The mere thought, she could stop this now was somewhat laughable. 

Hux’ fingers brushing along the underside of her breast made her squirm against him, as the sensation raced through her body. “Oh, kriff,” he groaned at the friction, his lips hot on her neck. He seemed to immediately catch on to the fact that it was her weak spot, adding a hint of teeth and she could not stop a moan escape her, her limbs turning more than a little weak.

And then his hand slid up a little more, cupping her breast through the thin material of her bra. For a moment there was only static in her brain. The mission, the fact that he was her enemy, it all fell away, drowned out by the burning heat that overwhelmed her, as she pressed herself against him nearly desperately, all pretense that she did not want this completely gone.

A high beeping sound barely cut through the haze, although she could honestly say she would probably not even have cared, if someone had fired a blaster next to them. The same could not be said for her Co-Commander however, as he made a step backwards, letting go of her, the sudden absence of his touch leaving a cold emptiness behind. 

When Selene had collected herself enough to turn around, the man was honestly busying himself with the kriffing machine again. Although the way his fingers were clenched around a sample and more than a little color painted his cheekbones, showed her that it cost him, she could literally watch, how he wrestled his breath back under control. Blast that imperial discipline. 

Her own breath and heart rate remained frustratingly irregular. 

It left her with the very embarrassing revelation that the only thing preventing them from tumbling over the edge now was his self-control. 

“Well, it wasn’t the wine last night then after all,” a very smug smile was on Hux’ face, when he finally looked at her again, those green eyes full of male satisfaction. 

And he kriffing knew it. 

It turned out a surefire way to get rid of the burn of desire was replacing it with righteous anger. 

“Oh, why is she doing this? That rebel pilot is clearly bad news!” Pip’s voice was full of dismay as they watched Princess Thea board an X-wing in an escape attempt, bringing her far away from General Larkas’ ship.

“Perhaps, because they are technical still enemies?” Clics commented dryly, his eyes on the holo screen as well. “And because the creators want us to watch all the other thirty episodes? We need a few more twists and turns before a happy end.”

“Who says it has a happy ending?” Happy said glumly. “Might be, they all die in the end. You know, like the crew of the Victorinox. And we, most likely.” 

That led to an animated discussion, if the princess had made the right decision by following her duty or if she should have followed her heart instead. 

Tank glanced at Masir, who was nursing a glass of Corellian brandy with a sullen look on his face, next to him. “Not that I want to complain about your company, but has something happened that you are hanging out here? You and that pretty Zi’daya major were inseparable before.” 

Masir’s eyes shot to the blonde pilot, who sat with her Zi’daya friends, his expression a mixture of confusion and dismay.  
“I don’t want to talk about it.” 

He took another sip out of his glass, frowning as she laughed at some of Captain Khi’sheko’s antics. “Women! There is no way to understand them!”  
The Captain looked at Tank. “I mean, when did I ever give her reason to think I was just interested in getting into her pants?” 

Opan sat down next to him. “Is he still going on about that?” He rolled his eyes. “Could you just talk with her? Talking solves many problems. Stars, I’m beginning to feel like I have to hold everyone’s hand around here.”  
The blue-eyed captain looked over at Mitaka, who was quite openly cuddling with Miss Brentiss. “Is that kind of official now? Kriff, that might be a problem.” 

Masir narrowed his eyes in anger. “Oh, yeah, because you are our local expert in happy relationships.” Then the rest of his words registered, making him sit up straighter. “Why? Did you finally find something out about Mitaka’s little aide?”

“Actually, I did,” Opan’s normally composed features for once showed something close to pity. “And it is nothing good. I should tell him first, though.” 

Tank decided that he would need another drink, if his friends’ gloomy mood continued, and made his way to the bar. 

Fayth fortunately just took one look at him and slid over a cold beer without comment.  
As he saw that Happy and Clics had organized a bottle of Corellian brandy, Tank sighed. Could he not leave his troopers alone for one evening?

“Don’t worry so much, Mum! That bottle was nearly empty.” Fayth laughed softly at the expression on his face, before his own gaze turned pensieve.  
“You know it’s quite ingenious, that whole holo night thing. Mixing the officers with the troopers in a casual environment. ” Fayth’ dark brown eyes held a definite gleam now. “It is so much harder to casually give an order that means certain death, if you have drunk a beer with someone. “

The stormtrooper sergeant stared at him in complete surprise. Not even Masir had ever caught on to that. 

How easy it was to underestimate the Zi’daya, thinking them just funloving troublemakers. But there was a deadly intelligence under the playful façade. 

“Don’t fret. I won’t tell anyone,” the bronze-skinned lieutenant glanced at the Zi’daya group with a soft look in his eyes. “I do know quite well how it feels to worry about an adopted family.” 

“You were not born in the Zidan system?” While Fayth did seem a lot more reserved than the other Zi’daya that was indeed new information. 

“No. I was born on Nal Hutta,” the other man’s features had darkened with the memories. ”Child of slaves in the third or forth generation. Ended up on Mataou at Unna Tash’s court at some point.” 

Oh. Tank knew there were only two kind of slaves at a Hutt’s court. Those that fought for their lives in the pits and those who served in the bedchamber. But that was certainly not something he could ask.  
Fayth must have seen something on his face after all, because a sardonic smile played around his lips. “And no, I was not in the fighting pits.” 

“I” the stormtrooper said slowly, fiddling with his bottle of beer. “can imagine. I was a Hutt’s property on Jakku the first seven years of my life. Before the Order bought me.” 

“And your life turned better when joining the First Order?” Fayth inquired.

Tank thought back to Brendol Hux and his training methods. To the countless battles, he had only made it out of alive by sheer luck. He gave a sarcastic laugh. 

“Well, I am officially a free man now. And at least there are regular meals and there isn’t someone out to kill me every single day.” 

“There should be more to life than that,” Fayth’ eyes held a deep understanding. 

“No, I don’t think there is more to life,” he had learned the lesson, that hoping for anything more just hurt more in the end, quite early. “Not for some forgotten Outer Rim boy like me. Whoever ruled this galaxy in the last centuries that much has stayed the same.” 

“I thought the same you know, before I met Selene.” Fayth took a long swallow of his own beer. 

“How did you meet her?” The sergeant could not help be a little curious about that.  
He was not sure, what he really thought about the Zi’daya commander. She was certainly a lot more pleasant-natured than any First Order officer he had ever met. But being a leader of her people there surely was a core of steel under the friendly exterieur. He did not know how far it could be trusted. 

And then there was her strange relationship with the General. He had never seen anyone challenge Hux so openly and get away with it. Tank was not one to gossip but there had been a few instances on the Victorinox yesterday, where it had looked like the General actually cared about his fiery Co-Commander. That would be a surprising development indeed. 

“Oh, she was on Mataou for some trade negotions with my master. He sent me to her one evening as a present,” Fayth’s lips twitched in amusement. “As you can imagine she was not really interested in my charms. She offered to try to free me, though. But…”  
Old pain flashed in his eyes. “A friend of mine had died a few days before. For some imagined slight against the master. I felt so angry and helpless that day. Could not keep it in anymore. Told her she was just another of that posh rish girls who wanted to feel good by saving one person while letting the rest rot.” 

“And then?”

“Well, she gave me a long look and said I was kriffing right. Then she pulled a blaster on me.”

“What?”

“Yeah. And passed it to me, asking me if I was prepared to do anything about it. Then she came up with a plan to rescue every slave in that palace and burn it all to the ground.”

Something that reckless did seem typical for the Zi’daya heir.

“We all nearly died that night. But we were lucky. In the end we made it out.” Fayth eyes held a deep satisfaction. “And I made sure Unna Tash will never enslave anyone ever again.” 

He scoffed. “You don’t want to know how bad the diplomatic fallout was, though. The Hutts still have a lot of power in the galaxy. Selene’s grandmother had to bribe a lot of people to make them look the other way concerning that night. And our names are still on a few bountyhunter’s lists. Although nothing too serious.” 

“And you decided to stay with her out of gratitude?” 

“Mmh, she is one of a kind, our Commander,” the former slave’s tone held real affection. “But her tendency to care for everyone and act before thinking things through, might get her killed one day. She definitely needs some people on her side to guard her back. “ 

Real loyalty kept him at his Commander’s side, then. It must be nice to have a cause to believe in, the sergeant thought. 

“And the Zi’daya adopted you?” 

“Excactly,” leaning over the bar, fishing for another bottle of beer, Captain Khi’sheko interrupted their conversation.  
“Fayth here just had to pass our citizenship test.” He grinned. “Sing all verses of the Zi’daya national song without mistakes.” 

The brown-haired Zi’daya grabbed his guitar and leaned close to a loudly protesting Major Shi’seko. “Oh, come on and join me, Briseis, you know you want to.” 

“And I got myself a Zi’daya kitten, her fur so soft and fine,  
Sometimes she really scratches me, but oh she is all mine,  
And if I pat her nice and slow, she can not help but purr,  
And how she purrs, oh how she purrs…”

Watching the enthusiastic way all Zi’daya joined in the song, Tank shook his head.  
“Oh, I would have thought, that song would bother them.” 

Fayth shook his head in bemused laughter. “No, they are kriffing proud of it. I’m quite sure they wrote the entire thing themselves.” 

“Oh, you arrogant son of a nerfherder!”

Hux had to look away from the blazing anger in his Co-Commander’s eyes, the sight of her with flushed cheeks and quickened breath nearly enough to shatter the last vestiges of his control. Stars, the way those exquisite curves had filled his hand perfectly was probably forever seared in his mind. As was that little moan she made, when his teeth grazed her neck. 

He must have made some unvoluntary move in her direction after all, because she demonstratively stepped to the far end of the research station, her chair a barrier between them.  
“If you don’t want to loose that hand, I would keep it where it is,” she growled, all bristling feminine outrage. 

He refrained from commenting that only a few minutes ago she had been quite eager to have his hands all over her, he was not suicidal after all. 

It was perhaps better for both of them, if she remained angry with him. Less of a risk that they actually gave in to that wild attraction that was burning between them. 

Hux pressed his fingers in his tigh hard, using the discomfort to ground himself again. He needed  
to get a grip on himself. 

He looked at the last results the machine had provided. “You were right,” he said, his voice utterly calm. “There is a match with the data bank. Several even, it seems. But what could that mean? Do you have any idea?” 

That Opan had been correct this morning and Selene was attracted to him, should be irrelevant. It should not matter that she was anything but averse to his touch. Because anything happening between them would be madness. A blatant violation of First Order regulations, when Pryde was just waiting for him to make a mistake. Not to speak of the obvious fact that he could not trust her at all.

Unfortunately, part of his brain was not impressed by his reasoning and completely caught up in the thought that, if he would just give in, he could end up with his Co-Commander tangled naked in bed. All that golden-brown skin and alluring curves for him to explore at his leisure. He had to breath in deeply again.  
Fine, perhaps not really part of his brain. 

For a moment, he contemplated, if he could use her desire for him to his own advantage, but he quickly dismissed the thought. He was not delusional enough to think that he would be able to keep the upper hand for long, if he ever indulged in her. This wouldn’t be a pragmatic, unemotional affair like he had with Kandia. 

No, anything happening with Selene noe Sa’onserei could only be all-consuming. Like being caught by a dangerous riptide in Arkanis’ sea after only dipping one’s toe in, drawn under water helplessly until it had run its course, only leaving you alive, if you were lucky.

But he was tempted, oh so tempted. It made him wonder, if perhaps he was already under water after all. 

Selene threw a look at the results on his screen, her eyes still narrowed in annoyance but clearly determined to turn this professional again. Her face turned thoughtful and she glanced at him, very obviously contemplating something. 

“If I trusted you with something, would I regret it at some point?” she asked, her intense golden eyes meeting his with an assessing look in them. 

The directness of the question floored him. Not looking away from her gaze, he answered her. “There are a lot of people in this galaxy, who would call you foolish to even ask that question.”  
He had deceived more than one ally in order to secure the First Order’s or his own advantage.  
“I don’t really have a reputation for being trustworthy.” 

A slight smile played around her lips at his words. “Well, I think I will take the risk. After all you have not disappointed me once, yet.” 

Some part of him wanted to warn her, tell her that was a bad idea, the other part felt a strange sort of elation that she did indeed trust him to a point.

His Co-Commander passed him her datapad, after opening a file on it. “Here. Everything my brother was able to find out so far about a similar threat in the past. Take your time, I can sent you the documents later.” 

Scrolling through various documents and reports, his mind was racing, quickly formulating and discarding several theories. 

“So,” he said after a while. “You think whoever is behind this, has tried before. A few hundred years ago to be more precise. But wouldn’t something like this be common knowledge?”

She shrugged. “Not necessarily. I don’t think the Jedi of the Old Republic would have had any interest in spreading a story that painted them in an incompetent light. What good is a government that is not able to protect its people? It would not be the only embarrassing incident that was hushed up.” 

Hux scoffed. “It wouldn’t surprise me, if that was true. The Jedi were always only a useless sect of esoterics. Completely unable to do what is necessary. If the empire had already existed back then…”

Selene rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, I know. The Imperator would have dealt with any threat before it could even form. Too bad, he wasn’t even born then.” She bit her lip in thought. “Although I would not discard the Jedi so quickly. I have a feeling that whatever happened did have some kind of connection to the force. A lot of things hint to some kind of dark force users behind this.” 

Hux barked out a dry laugh. Oh, it would be just typical, if that were true. 

Selene gave him a look. “You don’t think that theory has any merit, don’t you?” 

“Quite the opposite. You are right, this are a few coincidences too many, to not be connected somehow.” The General touched the datapad. “It only figures that it should have something to do with the force. I just cannot get rid of that mythical nonsense.” 

And he had thought Ren was the worst thing that came out of the dark side of the force. 

“And it seems your ancestor played some kind of role in whatever happened. Your ships were perhaps not taken by chance then. Could be an old feud.”

Selene’s eyes widened at that comment. “Oh, I had not thought of that.” Her face turned worried. “That would be very bad indeed.” 

“What I don’t understand is, why now? After over 600 years?” 

“We should not make the mistake to measure this against our human life span; there are a lot of species in the galaxy for whom 600 years would not be so long. There might even be some kind of life extending effect to that whole sucking out your life force business. Or it is just bad luck,” despite her words making sense, Hux caught a strange flicker in his Co-Commander’s eyes. 

“But you think there is actually another explanation, don’t you?” he questioned her. 

“Mmh,” she stalled for a moment, her fingers tracing the table in front of her. Then she looked up at him again, obviously coming to some kind of decision.  
“I could not help but notice that nearly all other evidence has been destroyed in the last years. By Kylo Ren under Supreme Leader Snoke’s orders.”

A deep sense of unease swooped through Hux’ stomach.

“Now, if I was the Commander of a foreign force, who has gotten himself a bloody nose the last time I tried, what would I do better this time?”  
Selene’s golden eyes flashed with the excitement of her thoughts. “Prevent that it happens again. Perhaps sent in an operative to gather information and try some sabotage beforehand. Divide and conquer. Basic strategy.” 

Was she trying to say, what he thought she was? 

“Wait, you think that Snoke was in truth a member of some kind of evil alien race?” he injected a tone of snide disbelief in the question. 

But his mind returned again and again to the burning feeling of cold he had experienced both with the corpses from the transporter and then again with those blue pearls. He knew that feeling, knew it only too well. The same chilling burn that had cut through him, every time his master had been displeased. Until he could not even remember ever feeling any kind of other sensation, any kind of warmth, while invisible claws were piercing his mind. He had thought himself to be used to pain, another thing Brendol Hux made sure of, but nothing had ever compared to this. It had lingered in his bones for days every time afterwards. 

“Well, where did he come from then, Armitage? That question should be easy to answer, shouldn’t it?”

It should be. But to his own horror his mind just drew a blank. It was as if he had never really thought about it. He, who always thought about everything.  
He would know, if someone had manipulated his mind, wouldn’t he? Would have felt it. 

“How did he become the leader of the First Order? There were others, who would have been a far more obvious choice. Pryde, Sloane or …”

“My father?” 

“From a certain point of view,” Selene’s voice was carefully neutral. 

“And you think it would have been possible to just fool the whole kriffing First Order?” 

“I will make the Jedi pay for what they did to me,” the blazing hate in Snoke’s voice every time he talked about the Jedi order. An order that had been eradicated over sixty years ago. 

This all made far more sense than it should. 

“And how many people have actually had any contact with Snoke in the last years?”  
Selene’s eyes were attentively watching his every reaction. Why could she not stop needling him about this?  
“That’s one of the disadvantages of totalitarian regimes. Easy to corrupt from the top-down. It would probably have been enough, if he just influenced High Command.” 

The General felt anger raise up in him at those condescending words. Before he could stop himself, he was on his feet, his voice harsh as he snapped at her. 

“If this is some kind of ploy to plant doubts in my head…” 

But even he could not conceive a scenario in which she would have been able to stage the death of a whole dreadnought crew. 

“It is just a theory, there is no reason to become so agitated,” his Co-Commander’s voice was infuriatingly calm. 

He walked up and down, no longer able to stand still. It was impossible, was it? He would have realized long ago that something was wrong.  
“But didn’t you?” some part of him whispered. He remembered the hard stone of Snoke’s throne room under his kness, as his mind was shredded to pieces. Every thought, memory and desire dissected and destroyed until he had felt, as if nothing remained of him. A few times, he had been quite sure, he would die there, begging for mercy that wouldn’t come. 

Still, it couldn’t be. 

“No reason to become agitated? You are implying that the whole First Order was duped by some kind of force sensitive monster that has planned to destroy the galaxy for centuries. That is ridiculous.”

“Well, if it is so ridiculous, it should be easy to disapprove.” Selene’s eyes narrowed at him. “But that is the problem, isn’t it? You know something, don’t you Armitage?”  
She stepped closer and gave him an imploring look. Kriff, when had she become so proficient at reading him? “Something you are not telling me.” 

Hux stared into nothingness for a moment, trying to decide what to tell her. She had trusted him with what she knew. Would it be so bad to trust her a little as well?

“I felt this kind of cold before.” The words felt heavy on his tongue, like treason against the foundations of the First Order itself. Nonetheless he continued. “In Snoke’s throne room.” 

“What?” The Zi’daya’s eyes widened in surprise. 

“You are right, it has something to do with the force. I felt it every time Snoke was really displeased,“ Hux briefly closed his eyes. It was harder to talk about this, then he would have thought. He could feel his breath becoming shorter at the memories. 

“You can’t imagine the pain. As if every bone in your body was grinded to dust, claws of ice boring into you brain. Sometimes I thought death would be a mercy.”  
He stopped himself, before he could say anything more. Stars, she must think him terribly weak. 

“And why didn’t you leave? Was being the Commander of his fleet enough to be worth your life?” but her voice held no contempt, only shocked disbelief. 

Somehow, without him even realizing it, her hand had clasped his. His rather hard grip must have been uncomfortable, but she didn’t even flinch. 

“It were incidents in which I had failed the Supreme Leader. I did deserve a punishment for that.” 

Failure had consequences, it was one of the first rules his father had taught him. 

“Nobody deserves something like this,” how easy it was to believe her, when those golden eyes were looking at him like that. All compassion and warmth. 

Selene’s fingers were still tangled with his, their touch a soft caress. It felt surprisingly … nice. 

“I am quite sure, Organa and her little band of rebels would disagree with you. As would a lot of other people in this galaxy.”

And so should she, shouldn’t she? Even if he was not her outright enemy now, he and the Order remained a threat to her planet. 

“Well, I don’t. I have always had my own opinion,” there was more than a little defiance in her tone, although her gaze flickered with a slight unease for a moment. 

She knew quite well, what a dangerous line she was toeing, he realized. He had no illusions about his own reputation. What he had said the other night remained true, to be linked in any way to the most notorious General of the First Order would not look good for her. Not to speak about what her people and, if his hunch was correct after all, her allies would have to say about it.

His little rebel was probably breaking as many rules as he was by getting close to him. 

“Whatever the truth is,” her eyes turned decisive again. “We should keep this from Pryde and your Supreme Leader.” 

“We?” Hux hadn’t pushed the issue before now, but he couldn’t suppress the urge to get some kind of commitment from her. “Is there a ‘We’?”  
He turned his hand, his fingers circling her wrist, and drew her closer. “How far can I trust you, Selene?” 

She calmly met his eyes. “In regards to Pryde and this mission? Yes, you can trust me.”  
She took a deep breath. “Beyond that depends.” 

“On my continuous good behavior?” he couldn’t help teasing her a little. 

Her answering smile made his heartbeat quicken again. “Mmh, I wanted to say my evaluation of your performance.” 

Time to bring some distance between them, before this escalated again. After what they had discussed and what happened earlier, he needed to delete the security footage of the lab later, he did not plan to add any more indiscretions today. 

Hux took a few steps away from his Co-Commander and started to tidy up the research station. “It is getting quite late. I will escort you back to your ship.” 

Her mischievious answer nearly made him groan. “Oh, are you planning to tug me into bed, General?” 

Briseis slightly sped up her steps, as she made her way out of the room, where holo night had taken place. She really did not want to run into Masir. She knew it was quite cowardly, but she had successfully avoided the First Order captain all day. She had felt his gaze on her the whole evening, though. 

Unfortunately, it seemed Masir had other plans, because he already waited for her directly in front of the door. He took a deep breath as he saw her, his face solemn. “Do you have a minute for me?”

This was probably not a good idea, but the hurt visible in those hazel eyes made her nod in agreement, before she could really think it through. 

As he led her through the Finalizer’s corridors she realized that for the first time since they had met, there was a distinct feeling of unease between them, both remaining quiet.  
Well, that was her own kriffing fault, wasn’t it?

They reached some seats before a large viewport, Masir motioning for her to sit down. Briseis did so, her eyes resolutely on the view of the galaxy outside, without really seeing it. 

“I am probably making a real fool of myself, but Briseis please hear me out.” Masir sounded more than a little desperate. “I never just intended to get you into bed. I mean yes, I flirted with you, but only because I thought you found it fun as well. And whatever you may think there have not been countless women on every planet. I mean I admit there were some but… And really I mean you are ... Blast it, you are the most amazing woman I ever met. Beautiful, funny, intelligent and you know how to hold a hydrospanner. And I would never…” 

Not longer able to listen to the dejected tone in his voice, she interrupted him, still not able to look at his face. “I know that.” 

“But what is the problem then?” He gave a sigh. “Please, would you at least look at me?”

Briseis did so, her heart clenching at the look on his face. “I,” she had to close her eyes for a moment, her voice barely a whisper. “I am afraid.”

“I would never hurt you,” his hands were warm, as he covered hers with them. 

But there was the very likely possibility that she would hurt him. As for her heart, it already felt like it was ripped in two in her breast.

In the end, that was what decided her. Because it was already far too late to protect herself, wasn’t it? Had perhaps been too late the moment she had smiled at him for the first time next to his TIE-Fighter. If she could not escape the heartbreak, why deny herself this?  
Perhaps Elodia was right and she should stop thinking and just live in the moment. 

So, when his hand trailed over her cheek in a slow caress, she leaned into the touch, her lips pressing a kiss to his palm. 

“We can take this as slow as you like,” the brown-eyed captain murmured between soft kisses, his hands gentle at her nape. 

It was her, who deepened their kisses after a while, swinging a leg over his lap and sitting herself astride him. He made a soft noise of surprise, but immediately allowed her entrance when her mouth opened against his. The languid way his tongue moved against hers and his hard body felt underneath her sent sparks of heat through her, that made her wish this would never end. After a few minutes of bliss, though, he firmly took hold of her arms, stopping her movements. 

“Now, I thought we are taking this slow,” he looked up at her with a flush on his face and his brown locks disheveled, desire plain in his hazel eyes. 

Briseis grinned at him a little sheepishly. He gave her a playful kiss on the nose, laughing. 

“I better get you back to your ship.” Masir took a deep breath. “Before all my good intentions are shot to hell.”

On their way back to the hangar, he put one arm around her shoulder, the warmth of his body a comfortable reassurance against her own.

The hangars overhead lights were already dimmed in sleep cycle mode, deep shadows between the ships parked there. Briseis stopped Masir a little way before they reached the Evenfall, not keen to have any of her friends witness their goodbye. 

The tender way he kissed her and murmured a soft ‘Goodnight’ was more than a little bittersweet. A soft smile still on her face, she walked the rest of the way to the Evenfall. 

“And I thought at least you had some common sense left.” Her brother’s disapproving voice stopped her short, as he stepped out the shadows of the ship’s entrance. So much for her attempt at discrecy. “Stars, you are as bad as Elodia.” 

“You know what? Actually it is none your business, Khendrik,” the Zi’daya pilot was conflicted enough about her own choices without her brother putting his nose into her life all the time. 

“You making lovey-dovey eyes at the enemy is none of my business?”

She scoffed. “Don’t be so dramatic. He isn’t a bad person.” 

“Oh, really? Have you thought for one moment about the fact, that the hands you are allowing all over you, have flown countless air strikes for the First Order? The Otomok System, Batuu, Tah’Nuhna,“ the words were like arrows of ice aimed at her heart. “Should I go on? I could mention quite a few more planets. Or did he tell you some sob story of deep remorse for all the Order’s crimes?” 

To be honest the First Order was the one topic she and Masir never really talked about. Briseis could not help feeling a little twitch of unease at her brother’s accusations. 

“You don’t think I am as sick as you are of this war? But I won’t let you call me some kind of traitor, only because I am able to give people a chance regardless which side they are on.” 

“Kriff, this is worse than your pining after Shima.” Khendrik’s grey eyes held a lot of frustration. 

“Oh sorry, that the fact that I have feelings, is such a great inconvenience for you.” How dare he bring up Shima now, Briseis thought furiously. He had been quite good at ignoring her feelings for their friend for years. 

“Blast it Briseis, I am just worried about you! There is no way this can end well; you do realize that, don’t you?” Her brother raised his hands, as if at the end of his patience. “Do you think I want to see you unhappy for years again?” 

“Perhaps instead of harassing me all the time, you should have a closer look at what your Commander is doing. Do you even know where she is?” It was probably not fair to bring her friend into this, but Briseis was a little too angry to care. 

A slight look of unease passed over Khendrik’s face. “She is not in her quarters, no. Do you know where she has gone?” 

Briseis gave him a falsely sweet smile. “If I should make a really wild guess, you might get lucky a little closer to a certain First Order general.” 

“You can’t really think Selene would ever start something with Hux of all people?”  
Oh, her brother could be so deliberately obtuse if he wanted to be.   
“She would never do something that stupid.” Khendrik shook his head in denial. 

“Well, if you are so sure about that, there is nothing to worry about, isn’t there? If you excuse me now, I am going to bed.” Briseis tried to move past him, still more than a little angry about his words. 

The sound of two voices coming from the hangar’s entrance interrupted them.  
She knew those voices. Selene and Hux.  
Before she could react, Khendrik had grabbed her arm and hid them both in the shadows behind the Evenfall. 

“It seems you have successfully brought me back to my ship unharmed, Armitage. I am very impressed.”  
Armitage? Briseis eyes widened in shocked disbelief at hearing her friend’s words. So they were actually on first name basis when nobody else was around. And that was definitely Selene’s flirty tone.

The two of them had stopped directly in front of the Evenfall’s entrance. Briseis dragged Khendrik a little deeper into the shadows behind the ship’s hull.  
“I aim to please.” Hux’ voice was sounding amused. “I hope today’s events won’t disturb your rest.” Uugh, could that get any mushier? Next, he would probably ask her to dream of him or something like that.

Wait, was the General actually touching Selene’s hair now? She was obviously leaning closer to him, her voice playful. “Oh, don’t worry there are very few things that have the power to keep me sleepless.”

Well, if that was the not reckless version of her friend’s behavior, she surely did not want to see the reckless one. 

A loud clang suddenly made the two Co-Commanders jump apart quickly, Selene entering the ship in a hurry.

Briseis looked at her brother, who had deliberately knocked over a container with spare parts.  
“Oh wow, smooth. What are you? Five?” 

Khendrik’s face was unapologetic. “It worked, didn’t it?” He shrugged. “We all do what we have to do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The little blue pearls are of course inspired by the movie “Jupiter ascending”  
> While it had its problems I always found the idea of the Harvesting delightfully creepy.  
> More to come about that in later chapters.
> 
> On a different note: I honestly don’t really understand the ratings around here. But I am a little paranoid, so to be save this story will probably change to an E rating with the next chapter
> 
> As Always I am forever grateful for your comments and kudos!


	8. Collision course

Sometimes it’s possible for a decision to be right and wrong at the same time.  
Anakin Skywalker 

Dopheld Mitaka stared at his datapad with unfocused eyes, reading the same paragraph again for at least the tenth time without really seeing it. 

The last few days had been some of the most miserable in his life. Since the evening Opan had told him, what he had found out about Elodia Brentiss’ past, he had been caught up in his own thoughts, barely able to work. 

The sound of heeled shoes in the corridor made him tense up. He should have known that she would not let this rest; after all, he had stopped speaking with her from one day to the other without any real explanation. 

As expected, the Zi’daya aide entered his room, clad smartly in a blue skirt and a white blouse, her black locks brushing her shoulders and her dark eyes grave. “Dopheld,” she greeted him. “Have you suddenly forgotten I exist or” her pretty features hardened. “is your Informations officer actually as good, as he says?”  
Clearly, Elodia was too intelligent to not piece together, what had happened on her own. 

“So it’s true, then?” Icy cold settled in his stomach. Some part of him it seemed, had still hoped that Opan might have made some kind of mistake. That was probably, why he had not gone to confront her himself, it had allowed him to cling to the illusion a while longer. “Are you really a criminal? Some kind of assassin?” 

“Were,” her expressive eyes closed for a moment and she sighed. “I had hoped I could leave that part of my past behind me.” 

The Lieutenant stared at her incredulously. “Leave behind that you killed people for a living? All for some crime cartel? How could you? Was it for the money? How many were there even…”

“So I guess Opan is not so good after all,” she stepped closer to him, her eyes intense. “No, not for money. And for the number…more than a hundred, but not so much more.” Elodia’s voice turned pleading. “But that all happened long ago. That is not, who I am anymore.” 

“Stars,” Dopheld had to get up, too agitated to remain seated, desperation tinging his own voice. “I feel like I don’t even know you. You just admitted to killing countless people.” 

Something flashed in her eyes then. Something cold and angry. “Oh, and how is that any different to what the First Order does? I never held any of those crimes against you. I didn’t take you for a hypocrite.”

Dopheld couldn’t face her gaze for a moment. Thinking about the victims of the First Order’s wars, was actually something he found harder and harder in the last years. He would never say it out loud, but that day they had used Starkiller base had horrified him. Although it was treason to even think it, it might be better that it had been destroyed. Still…  
“That is different. We are in a war. Some sacrifices have to be made.” 

“Did you take that out of one of Hux’ speeches? Well, I can tell you one thing, dead is dead. And the dead don’t care, why they were killed.” 

Dopheld stepped closer to Elodia, his eyes fixed on her face. He needed to understand this, it just didn’t make any sense that she would ever kill somebody in cold blood. “Just tell me why? Did the Black Sun force you to do it?” 

Pain and regret flashed over her elegant features. She sighed. “I was not really a member of Black Sun. The Red Hounds of Corellia were never more than a very small branch of the syndicate. Good enough to do some dirty work for them.”

She turned away from him, fiddling with the datapad on his desk absentmindedly. It was obviously hard for her to talk about this.  
“It was actually my father who brought me to the Hounds. You know the old story. When I was a little girl, we were the typical middle class family. Two children, little house in the outskirts of town. Father worked for one of the bigwigs in the shipyards. We were happy, I guess.” Her voice turned very soft. “Then he started to gamble. And he lost. Badly. First, we lost the house, having to move to one of Coronet Cities seedier districts, then all the money. And when nothing else was left, he sold his daughter.“ She looked up at him then, an ironic smile on her lips. 

“You could probably say, at least he didn’t sell me to one of the pleasure houses. But then I can remember him telling Vertash to do with me, whatever they want. So I can be grateful that he saw some potential in me and decided to train me.” There was nothing grateful in her eyes, though. 

“Vertash?“

“The leader of the Red Hounds. I did most of my assignments for him.” 

“And what happened to you father? Your family?” 

“Oh, he died. Someone put a knife between his ribs for some unpaid debt.” Elodia’s eyes held an old anger, that still burned brightly. “But not before accumulating enough debts to indenture me to the Red Hounds for decades. As for my family…” She scoffed. “Vertash is no fool. He knew keeping my mother and brother under his thumb, would prevent me from ever running away.” 

Dopheld’s mind was spinning, as he tried to make sense of it all.  
“Is Elodia even your real name?” he asked.

“It is actually. Although I went under a different name for many years.” Onyx. That information had actually been in the file. “I used it again, after I became a Zi’daya citizen.”

“And Commander Sa’onserei knows all this?” 

“I would say so, yes. After all she was my last target.” 

“What?” Dopheld’s voice was incredulous. Elodia actually tried to kill the Commander? 

“Some years ago Selene and her brothers had a run in with the Black Sun. It had something to do with their parents’ death. They settled it with their leader, but the syndicate does not always speak with one voice. There were branches that still wanted to teach them a lesson. So I was sent to pose as her roommate when she studied in Coruscant. To try and get some information at the beginning. But yes, at some point I got the order to kill her.” The Zi’daya aide’s eyes had closed, the memory obviously still full of pain. 

“But you didn’t go through with it.” 

“No, I didn’t.” She breathed. “And it was the most terrifying decision in my whole life. I was sure they would kill me and my family for it.” Her eyes were full of tears, as she opened them to look at him again. “But I knew Selene by then. And I just couldn’t.” 

The Lieutenant could just not watch her being in so much pain, his hand reaching up and touching her shoulder. “And what happened then?” 

“Selene paid all my debts to Vertash. She and her grandmother got my family out as well, they are now living in Ellesmee. And they made sure that the Black Sun was aware it would not be wise to come after us again.” A satisfied smile played around her lips. Dopheld wondered for a moment, how one convinced the most dangerous crime cartel in the Galaxy to stay away. “I was lucky.” Elodia put her hand on his for a moment. “And I hoped I could live my life without the shadows of the past. A second chance.” 

She turned towards the door. “Well, now you know everything. I know I should have told you, but I was just so afraid you would detest me.” She gave him a sad look over her shoulder. ”I guess, I better leave.”

Dopheld watched her starting to leave with a sudden ache in his heart, his thoughts racing. She was not really responsible for those crimes, wasn’t she? She had no choice. And when it had counted, she had actually been brave enough to do, what was right.  
Before he knew, what he was doing, he had made a few steps in her direction, reaching for her arm. “Elodia, wait!” He swallowed hard. “I don’t want to lose you.” 

Because while he only knew her for a few weeks, he was quite sure what he felt for her. He never wanted her out of his life again. 

Her eyes met his. “You don’t think I am some kind of monster? A murderer?” 

“Stars, no!” She was in his arms in a second, the warmth of her body a cherished comfort after so many days without her. “I think you are the bravest person I ever met. I can’t even imagine how hard this must have been for you,” he murmured against her hair. 

Although he could not help a little unease at the thought of a possible future together. He knew quite well Elodia was far from what his family expected in a future daughter in law. He had actually begun to make some plans regarding the topic. Hoping that there might be a possibility to get a posting in the Zidan system or near it, after the First Order won the war. Surely after they met Elodia, his family would have understood what a wonderful person she was. There was of course the little problem of a prior agreement that needed to be broken…  
But all of that was kind of impossible now. There wasn’t much any respectable imperial family looked down on more than any ties to criminal elements.

As she looked up at him, a brilliant smile on her face, all those thoughts were becoming quite irrelevant though. He would deal with it later.  
“I don’t want to lose you, too,” she said softly. 

“So,” Dopheld said with more than a little curiosity. “I guess you have some amazing skills with a knife then?” Somehow, he could still not align the image of the deadly assassin with the kind-hearted woman he knew.

Elodia gave him an assessing look. “Are you actually asking for a demonstration?” Before he could answer her, she moved with surprising speed, whipping out a small, elegant knife from a hidden sheath on her thigh and holding it against his throat. His heartbeat sped up at the cold feeling of metal against his skin, as he hardly dared to breathe. Elodia’s smile was quite self-satisfied. “Convinced now of my skills?” 

The Lieutenant swallowed hard, his voice a little nervous. “Very.” 

“Don’t worry, though,” there was a glint in her dark eyes, as the knife continued to hover over his throat. “You are completely save from me.” The look in her eyes turned softer. “I would never harm you.” 

He must have made some involuntary move then, because he felt a sudden burn, the knife tip having nicked his skin a little. “Oh!” Elodia’s eyes widened and she immediately let the weapon clatter on the desk. Her fingers traced along his neck and then she bent forward with a fiery look on her face, her tongue laving at the small hurt. The sensation burned through him hotly and before he could stop himself, he had buried his hands in her black locks and dragged her mouth up to his. 

He could taste his own blood on her tongue, but strangely, it was not all that off-putting. Just a reminder of the danger that drummed through his blood. His dangerous little assassin. There was a definite thrill to the thought, what she was capable of.

Their kiss became quite a bit more passionate than the ones they had shared previously; Elodia sitting on his desk, after he picked her up and put her on top of it, his hand gliding up her bare leg to the hem of her skirt daringly, while her hands tangled in his hair. 

“Mitaka, can you sent me the current fuel reports immediately?” General Hux’ voice cut through the haze of excitement in his aide’s brain, making him look up in shock.

His commanding officer was standing in the door to his office and had obviously just glanced up from his datapad. His green eyes narrowed, as he took in the scene in front of him. Dopheld quickly removed his hand from Elodia’s leg. 

“You have two minutes to make yourself presentable, Lieutenant.” The General’s voice was all icy disapproval. “And then I want to see you in my office with a good explanation for your behavior.” The door closed behind him with an audible whoosh. 

“Oops,” Elodia commented, her eyes a little wide, as she climbed of the desk, righting her skirt. She immediately patted his hair down, trying to erase the traces her fingers had left in it. “Will it help, if I stay or only make it worse?” 

Dopheld sighed, resigned to the fact that he would not get around one of the General’s unpleasant dressing-downs. Not that he had not earned it to a certain degree. He should have kept his hands off the Zi’daya aide, while still in the office. “I fear I will have to deal with that alone.” 

“Okay,” Elodia gave him a reassuring kiss on the cheek. “I will see you later then?”

“If I am still alive,” he murmured, watching her leave with a little trepidation. Well, no use drawing this out. He had just started to move in the direction of the General’s office door, when the door to the anteroom opened again, Commander Sa’onserei rushing in.  
“Is Hux in?” she asked, clearly agitated. 

“Yes,“ Dopheld’s answer made her enter the office and only seconds later he could hear snippets of her and the General’s conversation that was obviously quite loud. 

“I can’t believe...”  
“This is so typical…”  
“Cold-hearted…”  
“Ridiculous…”

After a few minutes, the door opened again, the Zi’daya storming out, just stopping to throw something back at her Co-Commander. “You know, if this is such an uncritical standard procedure without any dangers, it should not be a problem to demonstrate it to me.” 

General Hux had followed her to the door, his voice full of annoyance. “Definitely not. I have better things to do than senselessly climb around the Finalizer’s ion cannons, to prove something to you.” 

Commander Sa’onserei raised an eyebrow, her voice conveying a lot of doubt. “Is that so? Or are you just afraid after all?”

Hux carefully let the lead rope run through his heavily gloved hands, allowing him to climb down an additional few feet along the turbolaser turret at the starboard side, until he reached a small ledge. Having arrived at his destination, he clipped his security rope, attached to the space suit he was wearing, into a contraption on the Finalizer’s hull, anchoring him safely to the ship, so he would have his hands free. A light banging warned him to get out of the way, to allow his partner to do the same. 

After Selene had clipped her own security rope in, she immediately let herself fall back into the rope, her feet floating into space freely. “Oh wow, you know, this is actually kind of nice. What a view,” he heard her saying over the comms.  
The way, she was only held back from flying into space by a flimsy looking steel rope, made a strange kind of nervousness settle in Hux’ stomach. “Could you please stop that?” he ground out. 

She laughed, “Mmhm, not so sure about your security standards after all?”, but thankfully she grabbed the rope and pulled herself next to him. “So, where do we start?” 

Hux gave the ion cannons in front of them a disgruntled look, asking himself what in the blazes of the universe he was doing here. He would have thought himself far too old to let someone provoke him into anything by calling him a coward, but obviously, his Co-Commander had an unrivaled talent to bring out his most irresponsible sides. 

When she had stormed into his office accusing him of using stormtroopers instead of droids for the Finalizer’s outer space cleaning tasks, because he thought them expendable, an information she had picked up in one of her maintenance meetings, he could have easily corrected her. But to his chagrin, he had felt more than a little irritated that she still thought him capable of something like that. It made him snap at her and then one thing had led to the other, ending with them both out here on today’s cleaning shift. 

“We will have to work our way along the whole line,” he commented. “First check for damages and then clean the plasma outlet on every cannon.” 

“Fine.” Selene took out her cleaning equipment, an around two feet long mop whose handle could be pressed to apply a cleaning solution automatically. “So we do every second one?”

“If you want to,” Hux said curtly and started on the one in front of him. Today’s quarrel had only been the last strain on his patience. Since their conversation in the Finalizer’s lab, he had been more than a little on edge. 

He still did not completely believe Selene’s theories about Snoke. However, his mind was working too rationally to not see the evidence in front of him. The analysis of the Victorinox’ data systems had delivered a more than disappointing result. Both the flight monitoring and all surveillance systems showed nothing out of the ordinary, until a point four weeks ago. After that: nothing, as if someone or something had frozen all systems at once without even leaving a trace. It just reeked of the force being involved somehow. 

However, he had realized that if Selene was actually right, it might provide him with a golden opportunity. If Snoke had been a fraud and he could proof that without doubt, it would be a perfect chance to finally get rid of Kylo Ren. Because, who would believe that he had known nothing about his master’s deceit? In the best case, the Supreme Leader would be branded a traitor, in the worst, an incapable fool. If he played this right, it might even be possible to let Pryde take the fall with him. The only challenge was how to style himself a victim in this scenario. 

Anyway, he would need Selene’s help, if he wanted to move against Ren and Pryde. And that might be a little complicated. He had the feeling she would not be very supportive of him trying to become Supreme Leader himself. She was far too idealistic for that. Which meant he had to sell it to her as something else. Perhaps just as a way to rid the galaxy of Ren then. She should be on board with that.

The General finished his cannon and glanced over at his Co-Commander, checking, if she was ready as well, so that he could move the lead rope. His eyes widened a little, as he saw her jump up again and again, trying to reach the upper part of the cannon, her being obviously too small to do so easily. The way her security rope strained at every jump made him flinch.  
“What do you think you are doing?” he asked. “Cleaning the cannon, of course,” she answered, her voice a little annoyed.

“By jumping into space?” he grumbled. “Why didn’t you say something? We could just divide them into an upper and a lower part.”  
“Okay,” she catched up to him and started cleaning the next cannon. 

Hux’ eyes stayed on her for a moment, his thoughts captured by her again. After their slip up in the lab, he had tried his hardest to turn their relationship professional again. While he had succeeded to a point, as there had been no indiscretions between them again, there was a definite strain on his self-control. Especially their morning meetings in his office had become a special kind of torture. His mind had begun to use any weakness in his defenses to tempt him with fantasies of Selene. He woke up more than once with his body longing for her touch after a very vivid dream of what could have happened, if they were not interrupted every time. And taking care of the problem himself, while thinking of her, only made it indefinitely worse, since he had to sit across her only hours later. 

“Could you stop going so far to the left? I’m not finished yet,” Selene complained and tugged at the lead rope hard. 

“Well, then hurry up, I don’t have all day for this,” Hux answered, fed up with the whole task. At this speed, it would take them hours to complete this. 

Thankfully, they found some kind of rhythm then, the next cannons being cleaned much quicker. Finishing earlier than the Zi’daya a few cannons later, he used the time to stare into space for a moment. The view was actually kind of nice.

When he felt a hard tug on the rope, Hux gave an annoyed tug back, thinking that Selene was just complaining again. “Uff, “he heard and then a much harder pull on the lead rope followed. As he looked over to her, his heartrate picked up in shock. 

It seemed, it had not been Selene’s intention to pull on the rope after all, but it had just been caught on her cleaning equipment. And his tug back had dragged her down the ledge, so that now she was just hanging only on the security rope, her feet drifting into space again. 

“Can’t you be more careful?” she said and reached for her rope to pull herself back up. As if it happened in slow motion, he saw the tangled cleaning equipment grind against the security rope and then the steel rope snatched with a sudden pop. 

“Selene!” Hux threw himself forward as fast as he could, his hand stretched out to reach her, as her own suddenly grabbed into nothingness, her eyes wide in sudden fear under her helmet’s visor. For a long terrifying second he thought he had been too slow and she would be thrown into space. Then his hand closed around hers and he had to strain against her momentum, his other hand grabbing for the lead rope hectically to pull them both back into safety. 

When they were both back on the ledge, their breath more than a little labored after the shock they had, he turned towards her. “Are you alright?”

“Yes,” her voice was still shaking a little. ”Kriff, I guess this is nothing you should do with someone, who wants to get rid of you.” 

“So, no recommended First Order activity,” Hux joked, trying to lighten the mood. 

“There must be a few people in the Order you would trust not to chuck you into outer space, when the opportunity arises,” Selene said, her tone surprised. Well, perhaps Opan and Mitaka. Belatedly, he realized what that implicated regarding the fact that he was out here with her. 

“One or two would probably not try to get rid of me,” he admitted. She was silent for a moment. “I just don’t understand the First Order. I mean I would go through hell for my crew and them for me. But then in your eyes we are all probably incredible naïve.”

Yes, a few weeks ago he would have thought so. Now, he could not help feel a twinge of envy for the security she had in her people’s loyalty. 

“No, not naïve,“ Hux said solemnly. “Just irritatingly optimistic.” He sighed. “I don’t know what you think, but I have quite enough of this. We should return to the ship.”

His Co-Commander looked down on her destroyed rope. “But we haven’t finished and I lost my cleaning equipment.” 

He laughed. “Well, thankfully Captain Fallon can’t give us a demerit.”

After they returned to the ship, Hux helped Selene with the buckles on the space suit, his fingers lingering just a little too long at the one close to her neck, brushing against her hair. 

Stars, the man was confusing. 

After their conversation in the lab, he had not touched her again. Sure, the tension between them remained high and they were teasing each other quite often, but it was obvious he was putting himself under some kind of restraint. 

She did not know, how she felt about that. Part of her was glad that she was not as tempted any more to do something she might regret later. However, another part felt a strange sort of insecurity and perhaps even disappointment at the easy way he had returned to business. Had she just imagined those flashes of desire she thought she had seen in his green eyes? 

As she bent over to get off the weight downed space shoes, she caught him gazing at her ass, though. Or her Co-Commander’s self-control was just inhuman, she thought. Now, it would be completely crazy, if she tried to provoke him into letting go, wouldn’t it? 

Captain Fallon did not comment on the destroyed security rope and Selene’s lost cleaning equipment, although something about the way his pale eyes narrowed for a moment told her he would have loved to, if they were not his commanding officers. 

“Now,” Selene said, as she and Hux made their way through the Finalizer’s corridors. “Can you just admit…”

“Wait,” he interrupted her, peering into her face. “Are you bleeding?”

“Huh?” she touched her finger to the point at her temple he had stared at and really, it came away smeared with a few drops of blood. “I must have hit my head on the helmet a little.”

“Let’s get you to medbay,” Hux grabbed her arm and changed direction. 

“And have that sullen Doctor Kline prod at my face?” Selene shook her head. “No, thank you. It does not even hurt. It will probably stop bleeding on its own in a few minutes.” 

“Or it will get infected and scar. You should at least have it cleaned.” 

“Oh,” she grinned. “So worried about my pretty face?” 

Her Co-Commander sighed. “You’re impossible, you know that?” He let his eyes wander over the corridor’s walls. “If you are so unwilling to go to medbay, let me disinfect the wound quickly and put a bacta patch on it. “ He had obviously found what he was looking for, a small sign indicating a first aid station and led her to it.

With efficient movements, he pulled down a small cot from the wall, she could sit on and started to get some supplies out of the cabinet next to it. Selene sat down on the cot without resistance, more than a little amused by the fact that he seemed adamant to take care of her. Probably he felt a little guilty, because it had actually been his fault that she had fallen off that ledge. Moreover, there had been a noticeable tone of panic in his voice, when he had reached for her. It seemed he did care for her wellbeing quite a bit, not that he would ever admit it, she thought.  
“Mmm, that’s practical,” she just said, as he pulled off his gloves and opened a small package of disinfectants. “You have those all over the ship?”

“Yes,” Hux stepped closer to her and took her jaw in his hand, tilting her head to have a look at the wound. “with a ship this size, medbay might be too far away in an emergency. And,“ he raised an eyebrow. “there are always those who prefer to just quickly tend to their own wounds instead of doing the sensible thing and go there.” 

As his leg brushed against hers, Selene realized this might not have been a good idea, after all. Her unwilling attraction to him flamed up with a vengeance at their close proximity, making her heart beat wildly in her breast. 

“It is fortunately only a small cut,” he murmured, his eyes concentrated as he inspected the wound. Selene used his preoccupation to study his face in peace without him noticing. 

Objectively speaking, she mused, his nose was a little too long and his lips a little too full for a man. Oh, and he was far too pale for her usual tastes. Probably, he did not go planetside for years. Only that her body did not seem to care for objectivity at all. Although, those clear green eyes with their long lashes made more than up for it, as did those high cheekbones. And she was much more partial to the fiery shade of his hair, than she would have ever thought possible. She just wished, he wouldn’t glue it into submission all the time. 

He shifted slightly and raised the disinfectant to her face. It made her aware of the subtle cool scent she had begun to associate with him. Heat pooled in her stomach.  
“This might burn slightly,” the General warned her, before slowly cleaning the wound. The sting made Selene hiss. “All done,” he said with a small smile tugging at his lips. “I will just put some bacta on it to seal it up.” 

As he opened a prepacked bacta patch and carefully applied it to her temple, the Zi’daya could not keep from marveling how tender his touch was on her skin. He was good at this. Who would have thought?

When he tilted her head one last time to have a look at his work, she could not help a teasing comment from escaping her. “Are you not going to kiss it better?” 

Hux’ fingers stilled on her skin, his green eyes sliding to hers, an unreadable expression in them. One elegant finger slowly traced from her temple over her cheek, passing her jaw and continuing to her lips. The way it whispered over them, sent small shocks of electricity through her. With a soft sigh she parted them slowly, his skin warm against her own, as his fingertip slipped inside her mouth. 

His eyes darkened so violently in desire that she wondered, how she could have ever questioned his attraction to her, sending an answering pulse through her body. Her eyes not leaving his, she let her tongue swirl around his finger, making his pupils contract wildly. Her own need urging her on, she took this even farther, by sucking his finger inside her mouth without warning. 

His reaction was even better, than she had anticipated, his head going back with a groaned “Oh stars, Selene.” Then he drew her closer sharply, her backside hanging of the cot quite precariously and she was drowning in green eyes full of heat. 

Before he could cross the distance between them, loud voices echoed through the corridor. 

He let go of her so abruptly, that she nearly fell of the cot. As she was fighting for balance, her hand gripping the edge, he made a few steps away from her.  
“I am sure you will manage the rest on your own, Commander,” he murmured curtly, his voice strained. Watching him leave down the corridor, his steps a little quicker, than strictly necessary, she could not help frustration well up inside her. This was getting ridiculous. 

Fayth and Tank were coming up the corridor in the opposite direction, the stormtrooper throwing a curious glance at the General, as he passed them. Greeting her with a nod, he commented. “Something seems to have really occupied the General’s mind. I think, he did not even notice that I wasn’t wearing my helmet.” 

Fayth raised an eyebrow in his Commander’s direction. “Something or someone.” She swatted at him. 

Having finished today’s shift in the C hangar Tank and his squad made their way back to the stormtrooper quarters. It had been quite an exhausting day, since they had been occupied with moving countless boxes and containers with evidence from the Victorinox there. 

Allegiant General Pryde had ordered the dreadnought back to the Core Worlds, obviously adamant to have her back in fighting condition with a new crew as soon as possible. The thought that in a few days it would be, as if a crew of over 150.000 had never existed sent a distinct chill through Tank. 

As they rounded a corner, they came face to face with Fayth Hikeda, who was laboriously drudging an obviously heavy box through the corridor. 

“You should ask him, if he needs help, sergeant,” Clics murmured with amusement in his voice audible even over the voice modulator. “Prime opportunity to make a good impression.” 

Tank gave him a quick shove to shut him up. He should have known that his gossiping troopers would catch on to the fact that he talked quite often with the good-looking Zi’daya lieutenant.  
Making a shooing gesture to keep them going down the corridor, Tank ignored Meg’s and Lyra’s giggles, as he stopped next to the slim Lieutenant.

“Do you need help with that?” 

Fayth looked up in surprise, his brown eyes turning warm, as he realized, who it was under the stormtrooper armor. “That would actually be brilliant, yes. I definitely underestimated how kriffing large this ship is. And how heavy that box.”

Tank bent down and hoisted the box on his shoulder in one smooth move. While it was quite heavy, it was nothing he could not handle.  
“Where do you need it?” When he turned back to the Zi’daya, his mouth closed with an audible sound, more than a little admiration in his eyes. “Oh wow, that is actually quite impressive.” 

The sergeant could not help a small, pleased chuckle escape him. “Squad 245, at your service.”  
“Ah, so you are my friendly neighborhood stormtrooper now? Good to know. I might have a few more heavy things that need carrying in the future.” Fayth’ smile was cheerful. “That box needs to go the C hangar as well. A few more data consoles, although I don’t think they were able to analyze anything useful yet.” 

As Tank trailed back the way he had just come from, Fayth fell into step beside him. “So the Victorinox left for the Core Worlds today? Strange, isn’t it? To think that she might be back in action in a few days, as if nothing has happened.” 

“First Order policy states that we are all replaceable, it is only achieving our goals that matters.” Tank sighed. “So I guess it’s only logical to use the ship again as soon as possible.”

“Well, would you want to serve on that ghost ship?” The Zi’daya gave a soft shudder, as they reached the hangar.

“Stars, no.” Tank put down the box next to a few similar looking ones. “But who knows, if the same does not happen to us. Whoever did this, is still out there and we are going after them.” 

“I hope not, I planned to have a nice long vacation on Solei after this mission.” The Lieutenant’s face turned apologetic. “Sorry, that was thoughtless. I mean, do you have anything like shore leave?” 

After a quick glance around them to make sure the coast was clear, Tank put off his helmet, sighing as the cooler air of the hangar touched his skin. Working with these things on, was uncomfortably stifling sometimes. “We had a few days off here and there. But not since the conflict with the Resistance heated up again. I think the consensus is no free time until the Order is victorious.” 

Some emotion flickered over Fayth’ face too quick for him to catch it. “And what are your plans after the war is over?” 

That was a loaded question, Tank thought. He had always known that thinking about a time after the war, without the First Order, was a fragile hope that would probably only get him killed. Still, there remained a stubborn part of him, a remnant of a desert child, who knew nothing but sand and dust, that could not stop imagining a different future now and then. “I always thought I would love to do something with plants. Farming or working an orchard. You know growing things.” Instead of destroying them. This probably sounded incredible simple. 

But Fayth’ brown eyes were warm. “You would love Terenia then. It is the Zidan agriculture plant. They are all about those things. Moreover, they brew a very good beer. Selene’s oldest brother actually lives there.”

The understanding look made Tank tell him something he would not normally have shared that easily. “Actually we have a little project near the stormtrooper’s living quarters. We are trying to breed a version of the jogan fruit tree to be harvested in space. It is not much, but I could show you, if you want.”

For a moment, Fayth seemed a little surprised, then the lieutenant’s smiled turned very wide.  
“Yeah, sure, I would love to.”

They made their way through the Finalizer’s corridor in the direction of the lower decks, Fayth sharing some stories about the Zi’daya planets. As they neared one of the elevators, Tank suddenly realized that General Hux was standing in the corridor with his Co-Commander, who was sitting on one of the medical emergency cots. Blast, and he had been so caught up in his conversation with the lieutenant that he had forgotten to put his helmet back on. This would be a demerit for sure. 

To his surprise though, the General just passed them very quickly without really seeing them, more than a little color on his cheeks. 

As he greeted Commander Sa’onserei with a respectful nod, he noticed she was a little flushed as well. What exactly had those two been doing?  
“Something seems to have really occupied the General’s mind. I think, he did not even notice that I wasn’t wearing my helmet.” 

Fayth teased his Commander a little. “Something or someone,” making her swat playfully at him. “Everything alright Selene? Have you been hurt?” he added with a frown, clearly having noticed the bacta patch on her temple.  
The stormtrooper sergeant blinked, still a little taken aback by the informal way the Zi’daya communicated with each other. 

Sa’onserei jumped of the cot, her eyes returning to the corridor, where her Co-Commander had vanished. “Only a very small cut, don’t worry. Hux and I have been doing today’s outer space cleaning shift and I kind of slipped on one point.” She turned towards the cot, pushing it back against the wall, before stopping suddenly. “Oh, he forgot his gloves.” She picked them up with a pensive look on her face. 

“You did the cleaning shift, Commander?” Tank asked. “Well, that must have been fun. The troopers always draw straws to decide, who is allowed to do it.”

Sa’onserei stared at him. ”Draw straws?” Her voice had turned incredulous. “You mean, you actually like doing this?”

“Mmmh, yes?” Tank answered cautiously, confused by her reaction. “I mean, it is a nice change from guard duty and the view is brilliant.” 

“But of course you do.” There was obvious dismay on the Zi’daya heir’s face. “Stars, I am such an idiot.” 

Fayth laughed. “What is it? It can’t be that bad.” 

Sa’onserei cringed. “I kind of accused Hux of using the stormtroopers instead of droids for the cleaning shift, because he thought them expendable. And I called him cold-hearted.” 

Well, that was pretty bad, but Tank was quite sure Hux had been called worse things by a lot of people in the galaxy. What was more interesting were the emotions that flashed over the Commander’s face. Remorse and concern. 

“You do care about his feelings,” the words were out of his mouth before he could stop them. 

Commander Sa’onserei gave him a wide-eyed look. “No, of course not. I just…” She looked down at the General’s gloves and sighed. ”Well yes, perhaps more than I should.” 

Something about her reaction made Tank comment more on the topic, than he would normally have. “You know, compared to the other Generals, General Hux actually does care about the troopers. I mean, as far as First Order regulations allow,“ he was probably talking himself into trouble now. 

“Is that so?” Having those golden eyes focused completely on him was a little bit unsettling, the sergeant thought. “Interesting. You can imagine why?”

“It might have something to do with the fact that he was with us in the stormtrooper training as a kid for some time. Under Brendol Hux that is,” he should definitely not say anything more. The General would kill him, if he ever found out, he blabbered to Sa’onserei about that time. 

“Oh, so you knew Brendol Hux?” There was obvious curiosity on Sa’onserei’s face, her voice soft. “What kind of person was he?”

“A monster,” the verdict was out before he could reconsider his choice of words. She clearly had a talent for making people tell her exactly, what they were thinking. “Cruel, without compassion for anyone or anything.” Not even for his own son. He was not suicidal enough to say that part aloud, though. 

“I see.” Sa’onserei’s emotions were even easier to read than before, compassion and pity shining in her eyes. She clasped his arm for a second. “Well, then we should be glad he is dead, shouldn’t we?” Although the hard expression flashing through her eyes at those words, made the Sergeant think, she would have liked to do the deed herself. He had wondered before, if the General actually had some kind of feelings for his Co-Commander, now he was wondering, if, as unlikely as it seemed, Sa’onserei was actually returning those feelings. 

The Zi’daya nodded at them in parting. “Well, I will go apologize, then.” 

Tank glanced at Fayth, when she was gone. “Do you have any clue, what is going on between those two?” 

The brown-eyed lieutenant shook his head, concern in his eyes. “No, I don’t. And I can’t say I like it.” 

Making her way to Hux’ office, Selene absentmindedly played with his gloves. Very nice, supple leather, she thought. It seemed the Order only afforded the best for its officers. 

It kept her from thinking about what really was on her mind for a moment. She had clearly misjudged her Co-Commander, when she had accused him of indifference towards his crew. And Tank’s hints about his father… 

It made all her conflicting feelings for Armitage Hux rise up again. Why could this not be nice and simple, him being some evil, ruthless monster she could condemn to death without any remorse at all? Instead, she was stuck with this turmoil in her head. Instead of righteous contempt, she had begun to feel compassion and curiosity and, the most disturbing, fascination.

Selene thought back to their conversation in the Finalizer’s lap. Perhaps there was a way… But then she could never fully trust him, could she? Even, if she were able to turn him to their side, he would always remain a threat. The loyalty to the First Order and its beliefs too deeply ingrained. She just could not take the risk, that he would stab her in the back. 

When she entered his office after a short knock, there was a visible look of frustration on Hux’ face. Well, at least she was not the only one feeling that way. 

Stepping up to his desk, she slowly lay his gloves on top of it, her eyes intend on his. “You forgot those. Probably, because you were in a hurry for some reason.” Her lips twitched in amusement. 

Her Co-Commander levelled a deliberately impassive look at her, his eyes cool, while he remained seated at his desk. Oh, so it was time for the ‘I’m completely unaffected.’ routine again. “This has to stop, you know.” 

“What has to stop?” she widened her eyes innocently. “Me, carrying your stuff after you?” 

Obvious annoyance creeped into his cold façade. “You are the worst tease in the whole galaxy.” 

Selene did not let his standoffish tone deter her and she leaned over his desk a little, a playful smile on her face. “But you like it.” 

Hux glanced away from her for a moment, one corner of his lip rising in his customary half-smile, seemingly against this will. That had been easier, than she had expected. “One day you will take this a step too far and…” he trailed off. 

Her heartbeat picked up considerably and she tilted her head slightly, as she watched him. “Mmm, is that a promise?” 

“That,” the blatant hunger in his clear green eyes, made a thrill of excitement swoop through her stomach. It seemed her Co-Commander had given up on shielding his emotions from her. “would be a very bad idea.” Something else flickered in his eyes then. Something a lot softer, she could not really define. It reminded her of the tender way he had cared for her wound earlier, the near panic in his voice, as she had fallen of the ledge. 

It sent warning bells ringing in her mind. Some kind of visceral feeling warning her that she might be in far over her head. What was she really doing here? There was a line between being reckless and being downright crazy and she might have crossed it at some point.

Uncertainty making her strangely unsecure, she had to look away from him. Wandering through his office, her gaze catching on some military award here and there, she changed the topic to the real reason of her visit.  
“I actually came here to tell you, that I might have judged the situation too quickly earlier without having all the relevant information.”

Hux scoffed. “You do know an apology ordinarily includes the words ‘I am sorry’?

The Zi’daya gave him a significant look. “You could have told me the truth, instead of letting me assume the worst.”

“Already backtracking, aren’t we?” He shook his head and pulled over his data pad. “It doesn’t matter. We have something else we need to talk about. The scouting mission was quite successful. They found an empty ship nearly exactly on the coordinates you have calculated. Signs indicate that whatever happened, happened not more than a day ago. We are getting closer. What brings us to the question, what will we do, if we find what we are looking for?” 

“What kind of ship?” Selene thought about the poor people onboard of that vessel that had most likely ended up with their life sucked out of them as well. 

“Luckily, only some spice smugglers it seems.” Hux’ voice was full of disdain. 

“Luckily?” She felt a cold chill at his unfeeling words.

“Well, it is not, as if it has happened to someone, who hasn’t deserved it. They were only dirty criminals, who most likely destroyed the lives of countless others.” 

“Oh, and who decides who deserves to live and die now? You?” Selene felt anger rise up inside her. “You did not know this people. There might have been mitigating circumstances that led to that kind of life.” 

“Stars, please spare me your overdone sense of morality,” her Co-Commanders eyes flashed dangerously, as he started to get incensed as well. “Someone has to make the hard decisions yes, if there should ever be anything like order in the galaxy. If it would be up to people like you with your bleeding heart, we would be ruled by criminals and rebels.” 

“Oh, and I guess a few lives more are nothing, if one has lost count for how many deaths one is responsible long ago.”

Selene saw her remark finding its target, Hux’ face hardening, as his hand clenched on the desk. She was far too agitated to care. 

“Get out of my office,” he growled. 

“Gladly,” she snapped at the way to the door. “It isn’t, as if there is much space left in here next to your ego.” 

Her ire at Hux did not lessen all the way back to the Evenfall. How, she asked herself, could she have actually thought he had anything resembling a heart? Those glimpses of real feelings she had thought to have catched here and there in the last weeks, had deceived her and now she was disappointed by her confrontation with reality. 

The ruthless General, who coldly dismissed the lives of others, was the real Armitage Hux and not the man, who had traded confidences with her and whose touch made her long for more against her better judgement. And that was probably, why she was really that angry. Having to face the truth about him, made her only too aware that her continuing weakness for him was infinitely wrong. 

The next two hours she tried to work in her office on the Evenfall to no avail. It was, as if her thoughts had a mind of their own, driving her insane. Finally giving up, after she nearly approved a request from Shima for an additional food supply in his quarters, she decided she had to get her mind of things for a while. Her gaze fell on the sleek customized blaster her brother had gifted her on her last nameday. Deciding a little training could not hurt; she quickly changed into a more comfortable outfit and made her way to the First Order training facilities. 

Checking into the first empty shooting range, Selene had a quick look at the training simulations, deciding to start a very simple one that was basically targets popping up in front of her at varying distances. She only wanted to shoot something, no thoughts required. 

The familiar weight of the blaster in her hands was more than a little comforting, even more the slight recoil at every shot, as she went through a few rounds. This had been a good idea, for the first time in days her mind was blessedly unoccupied. 

She made a face as the training system visualized her results in front of her; she tended to get sloppy, when she was agitated. 

“Your problem is that you have an abysmal firing stance,” the cool voice commenting her performance was probably the last she wanted to hear in the whole galaxy. “It’s clearly a matter of focus not ability, because the few times you did get it right you were not that bad.” 

Selene turned around to find Hux leaning against the partition to the neighboring firing stand. Dressed in a black First Order training outfit, it seemed, same as her, he had planned to use a little weapon’s training to vent. 

“It might have escaped your notice, but I actually came her to be alone and cool off,” she ground out, her anger at her Co-Commander returning full force. 

“Ah,” he said, ignoring her not so subtle hint to get lost. “so you were shooting that badly on purpose? My fault for thinking that you wanted to train.” 

“Are you not supposed to have some kind of superior survival instinct? “ she said sweetly, stroking her blaster. “You really want to provoke me now, while I am still armed?”  
She gave the shooting range an assessing glance. “Let me guess, of course you are some kind of expert marksman.” 

Hux just raised an eyebrow at her and went to the simulator, starting the program again.  
He immediately moved into a firing stance, his own blaster raised, those piercing green eyes deeply focused. With more than a little annoyance, she saw his form was training book perfect, as he shot three rounds, the sizzle of the blaster bolts hitting their mark the only sound in the room. 

The fact that the way he looked, as he was shooting a blaster, all concentration and coiled strength, made her heartbeat pick up again, her thoughts returning to that moment earlier, when he had touched her lips, only deepened her anger at him.  
Rhea save her, did she really have no pride left? 

Selene was not even surprised, when the training system reported a perfect score.  
The General gave her a very smug look over his shoulder. 

“Have been training much?” the Zi’daya heir grumbled, realizing herself, that she sounded more than a little envious. 

“Shooting a blaster is part of the First Order officer’s training. It is recommended to train at least two times a week in the shooting range to keep one’s skills sharp.” 

And he surely followed every First Order training plan to the T, probably in the time those lesser humans like her needed for those pesky things like sleeping and eating. 

Sometimes she kriffing hated the man with a passion. 

“As is hand-to-hand combat, isn’t it?” she asked. “Since I seem unable to get rid of your presence you perhaps care for a round?” It was probably wiser to remove the temptation of a real weapon in her hands, as long as she still thought of strangling him. 

“That might not be the best idea,” something like unease flickered in Hux’ eyes at her suggestion. Selene gave him a challenging smile. “Afraid I will kick your ass?”

There was more than a little bravado to her words, though. While the thought to have an excuse to hit him was more than a little tempting, she had no illusions about her chances against him. She had a little training yes, but nothing on real military level. 

“Hardly,” he gave her an arrogant smile of his own. “But don’t complain later, if you lose.” 

Hux changed the private training room’s setting to ‘Don’t disturb’, letting the door close behind them. Watching his Co-Commander move through the room decked out in black mats, he noticed in the way her eyes still flashed and she threw her braid over her shoulder every now and then that she was still angry. Not that he was really over the things she had thrown at his head. That holier-than-thou attitude of hers grated on his nerves. 

The desire he had felt for her earlier mixed uncomfortably with his lingering anger, making him feel more than a little on edge. He had the distinct suspicion any activity that would bring them into close physical contact, would be a challenge. It was, why he had had been reluctant to agree to her idea. At least, thank the galaxy for small mercies, she was not wearing her shorts today, but soft training pants. Although that ridiculous shirt was bad enough. 

A few minutes into their sparring, Hux had realized two things:  
One: While she obviously did have some training, as with her shooting, she let her emotions influence her movements. He had seen more than one opening that would have ended the fight, if he had decided to use it.  
Two: Having her this close, her body touching his at every move and countermove was more than a little strain on his self-control.  
It was why he started to move into a much more defensive fighting style than was his wont, trying to avoid any unnecessary contact between them. 

“Stop toying with me,” Selene growled with an annoyed look on her face, as he just made an evasive move for the umpteenth time instead of engaging. “It is kriffing condescending.”  
He was going easy on her yes, but he was quite sure, if he had ended this in thirty seconds flat, she would have been angry as well. He just could not win with her in that mood. 

Still, if she wanted it that way, he was quite pissed off enough to teach her a little lesson. The next time she moved closer to him in an offensive move, Hux pushed out his hand and yanked on her flying braid hard. Predictably, her own momentum sent her to the floor with a pained yelp. 

“I told you that braid is a security hazard,” Hux offered in a self-satisfied tone. In a real fight, an enemy would not hesitate to use this to his advantage after all. His Co-Commander’s face turning downright murderous, as she was looking up at him from her position on her knees, made him realize that might not have been his wisest idea. 

He was still more than a little surprised, when she threw herself at him with an angry scream, sending them both tumbling over the training mats. For a moment, they were rolling over in a tangle of limbs, before he got the upper hand and pressed her down, his hands around her wrists. 

He would actually have let her up after a moment, but Selene seemed too agitated to realize it and moved her leg to kick him. Her foot against his shin was quite painful and he got a little annoyed himself. He used more of his body weight to pin her, her straining against his hold. “Blast it Selene, would you stop that!” 

The way her golden eyes blazed up at him, was probably the angriest he had ever seen them.  
It made him suddenly very aware, what position they were in. Him laying on top of her, holding her down, while her tempting lips were only inches from his own. 

The feel of her body underneath his made desire crash through him again and he could feel himself grow hard. As close as they were, there was no way she could miss his reaction. Predictably, her eyes widened a little and she gasped.  
Hux tried to salvage the situation as best as he could, giving her a stern look. “Now, could you just yield, Selene.”

The expression in her eyes changed then, surprise replaced by something quite different. That golden, molten gaze that made him long to burn himself in it. She slowly shifted her hips against his, the pressure driving a groan from him. The smile on her lips was more than a little wild.  
“Make me!” 

Something taut inside him snapped at her challenge and without thought, he bridged the remaining distance between them and claimed her lips in a bruising kiss. 

Her mouth opened under his without any resistance, their tongues continuing the fight from before in quite a different way. She tasted as good as she smelled, of sweet berries and summer heat. The galaxy narrowed down into flashes of sensation, her hot mouth under his, the way her body writhed against his passionately, her quickened breath and the little gasps that escaped her. Stars, he wanted her so much he just could not deny himself any more. 

At one point, air did become an issue though and Hux reluctantly dislodged his lips from hers. He had let go of her wrists somewhere in between and one of her hands immediately went into his hair, dragging him down for another round. The hungry way she moved her mouth against his, adding a playful bite to his lips in between their kisses, made his head reel. 

The urge to explore her alluring curves became irresistible and he gave in, letting his hands roam all over her. When he cupped one of her breasts and stroked her through the thin fabric of her shirt, Selene moaned into his mouth, her legs opening to let him move closer. He could not help thrusting against her, the thought that only a very thin layer of clothes was separating them now, burning through his mind.  
“Oh, stars, yes,” she breathed into his ear, their hips moving against each other frantically, both desperate for any kind of friction to alleviate the growing need between them. 

Selene’s hands began to wander down his back and for a moment, he thought she wanted to slow down, but when he glanced at her face, there was no hesitation in her eyes only that blazing look of desire that mirrored his own. Still, he was more than a little surprised, when she hooked her fingers under the waistband of his pants and started to drag them down.  
Part of his mind whispered in a slightly disbelieving tone ‘Are you really going to fuck your Co-Commander on the floor of the training room now?’

Before he could think anything more though, one hand glided over his stomach and closed around his cock firmly, making him groan loudly and any remaining thoughts flew out of his head. A mischievous little laugh escaped Selene. 

After that, it was a hurried race to get rid of the necessary articles of clothing, her shoes and pants following his quickly. Hux would have liked to explore the soft skin of her thighs, but it seemed she was even more impatient than he was, as she pulled him on top of her, her hips rising up to meet his own. His eyes were riveted by her face, as he entered her slowly, taking in the way her pupils were blown impossible wide, her cheeks flushed and her mouth forming a perfect bow, as pleasure flowed through her. He had a feeling the image would stay with him for a very long time. 

The sensation of her wet heat around him, as he filled her completely, was nearly too much and he had to bury his face in her hair, trying to keep some control. After a moment, her fingers grabbed his forearms, her body moving underneath him, urging him to continue. He indulged her with slow, deliberate thrusts, every movement sending sharp waves of pleasure through him, her gasps breathless in his ear.

He grabbed one of her legs, hiking it up higher against his hip and deepened his thrusts. It earned him a wild exclamation of ‘Oh yes, Armitage, please’ from her, her fingernails dragging over his arms nearly painfully. As they both swayed on the edge, she started to moan something in Zi’daya, her tone more than a little desperate. 

His own pleasure had reached an intensity that was nearly painful, drowning out anything else. She captured his mouth in another kiss, wet and sloppy with need, their teeth clanking together clumsily. The way she tightened around him hard then, something close to a sob on her lips, made him tumble over the edge with a groan as well, lights exploding in front of his eyes, as he spilled inside her. 

For very long moments, Hux could just breathe afterwards, his breath ragged, all thought completely wiped from his mind. Then slowly separate sensations came back to him, the coldness of the training room on his naked skin, the burn of the mat under his knees and the fact that he had just collapsed on top of Selene, surely crushing her. He somehow found a rest of energy left to roll of her, drawing a soft noise of discontent from her as his body left hers. 

It made him glance over at her with a little trepidation. With her cheeks flushed, her pale hair disheveled and slightly sweaty, a slight smile around her mouth and her eyes closed she looked quite well pleasured. What made a strange sensation flutter in his stomach though, was the soft expression in her golden eyes, as they slowly opened, meeting his. Before he could think about it, he had leaned over and pressed a tender kiss to her brow. 

Selene’s lips twitched. “Mmh,” she murmured. “It seems you do have some redeeming qualities after all, General.” 

The use of his rank, even in a playful way, unfortunately let reality crash into the feeling of contentment that had been coursing through him as well. 

Kriff, what had he done? 

He had broken a dozen First Order regulations, desecrated Order facilities and behaved completely inappropriately for a commanding officer in one single act. Not to mention the fact that he had crossed nearly every imaginable line with his Co-Commander.

But blast it, it had been kriffing glorious.

Selene must have seen some of his conflicting feelings on his face, because she sat up and one of her hands lifted, her fingers touching his jaw. “You’re okay?” she asked.

He needed to think, Hux realized. Get a grip on his own turbulent emotions, before he did any more things he would regret later. 

“Yes,” he answered, his voice more than a little rough, “we should get dressed. This is after all a training room, someone could come in.” 

He had half expected her to force him to talk about what happened, but she silently followed his example and grabbed her clothes, quickly putting them on, very obviously caught up in her own thoughts. It made him wonder briefly, what she felt about this.  
Regret? She had been as eager as he had been, but that had been in the heat of the moment. 

Her eyes, as she turned towards him, did not seem to hold anything of that kind though, warmth still shining in them. “Well,” she said hesitantly. ”I guess, I will see you tomorrow?”  
Hux just nodded, not quite knowing what to say, the whole situation so far out of his experience that he felt a little lost. With a smile back at him, Selene slipped out of the room, leaving him alone with his racing thoughts.

He was halfway on the way to his quarters, when he remembered the surveillance cameras in the training rooms. 

After he had walked the long way to the security center, shooing out the technicians stationed there and using his override command to delete all of today’s data from the training area, he contemplated for a moment what his life had come to. He had made the same track a few days prior for quite similar reasons after all. 

Finally back in his quarters, he tried to look at their indiscretion with a rational view. Yes, it had not been the professional behavior that was expected from a First Order General. But, if he was honest, the growing tension between them had been harder and harder to ignore. It had started to negatively affect the efficiency of their work. 

He absentmindedly bent down and patted Millicent’s head, who had come out of his bedroom to greet him. Perhaps indulging once had been what was necessary to get this unfortunate desire for his Co-Commander out of his system. Surely, she would feel the same and be glad to return to a cordial working relationship with him, now the curiosity was sated. 

Only when he stood under his shower later, he realized that they never had anything resembling a cordial relationship. No, only something fluctuating so wildly between anger, grudging respect and want that he could not even define it. 

And his mind kept on relentlessly teasing him with vivid flashbacks of what happened between them in the training room. The way her skin had felt against his, her taste, how beautiful her face had looked like caught in rapture. It did not feel at all, as if sleeping with Selene noe Sa’onserei once had been enough to get her out of his system. On the contrary, his traitorous body seemed quite adamant that it would be a great idea to repeat the experience. In the end, it took all the rest of his control to not give in and call her over his comms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for your kind comments and kudos on the last chapter!
> 
> So I fear, you will have to wait until next chapter for any insight in Selene’s thoughts ;-) 
> 
> Regarding the First Order attitude towards any kind of crime and underworld, I am going with the assumption, that it is the same very strict law and order one the Empire had. Something I always found very ironic, if you think about it. The way Kylo Ren always insults Rey’s friends as criminals and rebels seems to point in that direction as well.  
> We will see some more of that in the next chapter. 
> 
> Thank you for commenting and reading ;-)
> 
> I have decided to give a little teaser on the next chapter from now on…
> 
> Chapter 9: Bad ideas
> 
> Selene teaches Hux a lesson.  
> Briseis sees something that shocks her.  
> During a visit to a Hutt controlled planet, Selene and Hux realize, how far apart their allegiances really are.


	9. Bad ideas

You have your moments. Not many of them, but you do have them.  
Princess Leia Organa 

As Selene made her way from the Finalizer’s training rooms back to the Evenfall, her mind was completely occupied with thoughts of what happened between her and her Co-Commander. 

She should feel some kind of remorse, shouldn’t she? She was quite sure on the list of very bad things you should not be doing and, if you do, you will need to repent until eternity, banging Armitage Hux, and even worse liking it, was definitely somewhere in the top spaces. 

Instead of regretful, she could not help feel strangely relaxed for the first time in days. Oh, the wonderful effects of good sex. She needed to make sure he never found out how good or he would become unbearable smug. It was probably because it had been some time for her, she thought. The last guy she had shared a bed with had been one of Tay’s lab assistants during an uncomplicated fling last summer. Kriff, she was clearly working too much. 

When she entered the Evenfall, unfortunately the first person she ran into on her way to her quarters was Khendrik. She felt a slight panic at the sight of him. Hopefully, she did not look more disheveled than a little training would account for. 

The grey-eyed captain only raised an eyebrow at her and smiled. “You look like the Tooka Cat who ate the Bulabird. Good training session?” Selene could not help smiling back cheekily. “Oh yes, really satisfactory.”

He gave her shoulder a small pat, his face thoughtful. “Well, sometimes some physical exertion is just what you need. You were a little tense the last days.” 

“Mmmmh” Selene pressed out, trying not to burst out laughing. Oh stars, her sworn protector would spontaneously combust, if he knew what exactly she had been up to and with whom. “I’m going to shower.” She gave him a quick wave, before ducking into her quarters, intend to not run into anyone else. 

She slipped out of her clothes and turned on her shower. As the hot water cascaded over her body, her thoughts returned to her Co-Commander. How burning desire had coursed through her, when he had finally given in and kissed her, how his weight had felt on top of her and how pleasure had transformed his face, making him appear much softer, his green eyes bright. While the passion had not really surprised her, she had after all seen enough of his temper to know the cold demeanor was nothing more than a façade, there had been a tenderness here and there that was a little unsettling. Or was the unsettling part that she had actually liked that?

When her fingers brushed the stele on her throat, Selene suddenly did feel unease after all, its weight much heavier from one second to the next. Even if she tried to ignore the implications, this was an unforeseen complication. 

As she dried off her hair and readied herself for bed, her thoughts raced. If it was morally okay to blow up someone for the greater good, was it then wrong to sleep with him before doing so? It could not be both, couldn’t it? Because killing someone was surely the worst thing you could do to him, wasn’t it? What meant it was a morally grey area and she could not be blamed for being unsure what to do. 

Besides, she did not even had an opportunity to plant that virus, yet. Although she might not have tried very hard until now. And there was the fact that they might all die on this mission and the question, if she was really prepared to go through with it, might never arise. 

Stars, was she actually trying to find a loophole that allowed her to continue doing this? She thought of the feeling of his body against hers. She definitely was.

Despite her occupied mind, the Zi’daya heir had a good night’s rest. She was not really surprised, when she awakened to find a message from Hux on her comms that he was held up and would come directly to the morning meeting. An obvious excuse to avoid being alone with her. But then she had seen the beginnings of panic on his face, when she had left him yesterday. He had probably spent the whole night bemoaning every one of his beloved First Order regulations they had broken in excruciating detail.

Even if it irked her a little herself, that she bothered, she dressed rather nicely in a white blouse and flowing yellow skirt. When she entered the meeting room, Hux’ gaze immediately found hers, as if guided by some shared awareness between them. For a moment, a dozen emotions flashed in his eyes, longing, confusion and regret among them, before he was able to hide his feelings behind a look of cool professionalism again. 

If she had any illusions that the strange attraction between them would fizzle out, after giving in once, they would have died then and there. If anything, she felt even more on edge than ever before, as she sat down next to him, her body achingly aware of every inch of distance between them. Her Co-Commander kept his gaze intentionally straight forward, seemingly ignoring her presence after a murmured greeting. The way he swallowed hard told her she was not the only one affected, though. 

Selene could barely concentrate on the meeting, only adding her opinion, when it was unavoidable. “Fuel has been running low. We need to schedule in a supply run as soon as possible,” Major Tark’s comment made her listen more intendly to what was being said. He glanced on the starcharts the Zi’daya had provided. “According to your maps the closest possibility is at Lexus planet. Anything else would mean a detour of at least two days.” 

Rine, one of her technicans, nodded slowly with a glance at her. “That is a Hutt controlled planet. But we have refueled there before, yes. We have an agreement with the local Huttese representive.” 

Kriff, Selene thought, she did not really want her Co-Commander anywhere near that planet. Venya mining station, where they were mining adamantium, was in that sector. And her agreement with the Hutts did not only include fuel supply, but also military protection. Two facts that were directly violating their arrangement with the First Order. Not to mention that Trilla Nemase Orlia was an unpredictable ally at best and having her and Hux in the same room would be a recipe for disaster. 

“Do you now?” Hux raised one eyebrow in surprise at her. “I would not have thought you wanted to have anything to do with those criminals. Didn’t you wreck one of their properties one or two years ago?” 

“There are not many refuel possibilities out here,” she explained matter of factly. “And it does only require minimal contact.”  
Blast it, why did he have to be so attentive to details? He had noticed there was something she wanted to hide about the mining station as well. She had to get him of that case.

As the discussion turned to the logistics of contacting administration on Lexus to organize a supply ship, she slowly let her leg slide against his under the table. The effect was more successful than she could have hoped for, his whole body tensing up violently. Green eyes met golden ones in a breathless moment. Selene felt herself transported back to the way he had looked at her in the training room yesterday, desire blazing through her again. Oh, blast all the consequences; she wanted him too much to not pursue this. 

The rest of the meeting passed in some kind of haze. Hux immediately stood up, when it was concluded and vanished through the door. He was obviously caught up in some illusion that he could ignore what happened, if he avoided talking with her long enough. In a cute way it reminded her of her school days. Not that she would let him get away with it. 

As she got up herself, intend to go after him, she did pause for a moment. While yesterday could be seen as a one-time slip-up, what she planned now was a lot more deliberate. Did not mean she could stop herself from doing it, though. 

When she reached her Co-Commander’s office, the anteroom was empty; Selene remembered having seen Mitaka still in discussion with Elodia, as she had left the meeting room. That served her quite well, since she did not want to give Hux any opportunity to wiggle out of this by pretending he had another meeting. 

She knocked on his door only once, before entering. Under any other circumstances the wide-eyed look he gave her, would have made her laugh. Who would have thought that she had the ability to make General Armitage Hux of the First Order so nervous?

“We need to talk,” she said, letting the door slide close behind her and leaning against the wall next to it. Hux’ face was that of a man resigned to his fate. “Yes, I know.” He took a deep breath, before schooling his features into indifference. She could see some fissures in his mask though. His hand fiddling with his datapad, his posture just a little too stiff even for his standards.  
“About yesterday’s indiscretion…”

“Indiscretion?” she interrupted him. “You mean the fact that we had sex? Sorry, I don’t understand it, when you talk like an old spinster from the Core Worlds.” She waved her hand. “Go on.” 

His eyes narrowed in annoyance, a slight blush on his cheeks. “As I wanted to say, you surely agree that our behavior was completely unprofessional and…” 

Selene grinned. ”Unprofessional? Well perhaps, yes. But you have to admit it was also gloriously good.” 

His blush deepened. “That is completely irrelevant. We just can’t…” 

“Of course it’s relevant. We would not be doing it again after all, if it had been abysmal.” 

“Doing it again?” his voice was incredulous. “That was a very unfortunate error in judgement that will definitely never happen again. Do you even realize how many regulations we have broken?“ 

She kind of stopped listening at that point. It seemed he was adamant to return to that tense professional relationship they had before. Uggh, the man obviously had a thing for tormenting himself. Well, it definitely was time to teach her Co-Commander a little lesson, then. Oh, she would really enjoy this. 

The fact that Selene did not get angry at all, as he explained to her, why they could never let a mistake like yesterday happen ever again, should have probably warned Hux. Actually, her eyes had turned a little vacant, as he talked, so he trailed off. “Are you even listening to me, Selene?”

“No, not really,” she said and pressed the door panel to his office, without even turning around, locking up the room. 

“What do you think you are doing?” he asked, his voice a lot more unsure, than he liked. 

“Making sure we are not interrupted,” she was utterly calm, as she regarded him. ”Do you remember, when I told you, you would know, if I ever use my womanly wiles on you?” Something wild flashed in her eyes then, a fire that made him freeze in his chair, spellbound by the fierce look on her face. She pushed herself off the wall, slowly making her way through the room, her steps deliberate and her eyes never leaving his. 

Hux should have told her to stop this, but it took all of his willpower to not reach for her, desire burning so violently in his veins that it nearly drove him mad.  
Selene bend over him, all of her movements excruciatingly slow. Still maintaining eye contact, she licked her lips, making his breath studder. When she crossed the distance between them and pressed her mouth to his, his hands grabbed the armrest of his chair hard. His resolve not to participate in the kiss, held exactly as long as it took for her tongue to flit against his lips. His mouth opened for her and she seized the opportunity, deepening the kiss.  
Selene kissed like she did everything else, he had learned by now, going all in without taking any prisoners.

For long minutes, the only thing he felt was her hot mouth on his, him drowning in her sweet taste. Then she moved back a little bit, her lips leaving his. She tilted her head, as she regarded him, her golden eyes still burning and an unsettlingly amused expression in them. So far, the only place where they had touched had been their lips. The leather of his gloves groaned in protest at his hard grip on the armrest, but he had refrained from touching her. Barely. 

“I guess you are unaffected then?” she commented.  
“Completely unaffected,” Hux answered. Although, he realized the rough tone of his voice told quite a different story.  
She smiled. So wild and challenging that he knew he was in trouble.

And then she dropped to her knees in front of him. “Selene, what are you…” Before he could even finish his sentence, she had very expertly opened both his belt and his trousers. Blast it, she was efficient. But she was not really planning to… Her wet mouth closing around his cock answered that question for him. “Oh stars above…” His head went back at the sensation. 

He needed to stop this. They were in his kriffing office after all and this was definitely not turning their relationship professional again. But every time he wanted to hold on to that thought, she would do something with her tongue that was surely illegal in a dozen starsystems and instead of telling her to stop a breathless moan escaped him. 

Soon his pleasure had reached a point, where it overtook everything else. And then Selene suddenly did stop. Hux looked down at her in a near panic. She would not be that cruel to teach him a lesson, would she? 

Without thought his hand, that somehow had found its way from the armrest into her pale hair, tried to tug her back. She raised an eyebrow at him. “Still completely unaffected?” she asked.  
“Fine,” he ground out desperately. “You win. But please don’t stop now.” 

“Oh yes, a little begging might convince me to continue,” she grinned.  
One little please was not really begging, he thought and he definitely would not do so, but thankfully, she seemed already convinced, her clever mouth returning to his groin. 

Only now, Selene’s touch was less playful and a lot firmer. After five minutes, Hux completely forgot his resolve not to beg, his moans a lot louder than he would have thought possible, pleading with her and the stars and some Arkanisien sea deities, he did not even thought he remembered. 

After ten minutes, he would have given her sole command of the Finalizer and told her all the First Order’s secrets, if she had asked him to. She had an impressive talent to bring him close to the edge and stop at the last second, letting him catch his breath, only to do it all again. He was not sure, if he thought her to be the most amazing or the most terrifying woman in the whole galaxy. 

When she picked up the pace, he realized she did not plan to stop this time. Hux tugged at her hair again in warning, but she only swatted his hand away, obviously resolved to see this through to the end. He came hard with a groan of her name on his lips, his body nearly lifting of the chair. 

When he could breathe again, he became aware Selene had gotten up from her knees and was leaning over him. Her golden eyes watched him with an expression that was very self-satisfied. She trailed her fingers through his hair, her face softening imperceptively. “Oh, I so enjoy making you come undone,” she murmured. 

He stared at her flushed cheeks and bright eyes with more than a little awe. Then he dragged her closer for a soft kiss that made her smile. For a moment, she leaned against him before stepping away. 

“I have to go. I am already late for my maintenance meeting,” she said, unlocking the door. “And don’t worry; you can pay me back next time.” With a sassy smile and a wink, his Co-Commander was out of his office, leaving him more confused than ever. 

He should be ashamed how easily he had given in again, Hux thought, but instead he was still floating on a wave of euphoria after one of the most intense orgasms of his life. Part of him began to wonder, if it was really such a bad idea to continue doing this. 

Then doubts began to whisper in his head. While there was no denying that there was an overwhelming physical attraction between him and Selene, they still clashed on nearly everything else. He still could not trust her at all. And he knew quite well he was a little too susceptible to her touch. If he kept sleeping with her, there was a considerable risk she would use this against him at some point. But perhaps it would be worth that risk… 

Becoming suddenly aware that he still had not closed his trousers and belt, he quickly made himself presentable again. He did not even know, when he had his next meeting. 

As the General stepped into his office’s anteroom, the way Lieutenant Mitaka stared at him and blushed furiously told him that his office was by far not as soundproof as he had thought. Kriffing Kuat engineering. Commenting on the topic would only make it worse, though. He would have to rely on his aide’s discretion. And probably be more lenient towards his entanglement with Miss Brentiss in the future.

“What are my next meetings, Lieutenant?” he asked. 

Mitaka blinked for a moment, before having a look at his datapad.  
“A holo call with Allegiant General Pryde in half an hour, sir.” 

Hux nearly rolled his eyes at that. Talking with his superior was the last thing he needed today. Since he had been quite stingy with any information regarding the Victorinox, Pryde had become suspicious in their last meetings.

For a moment, he imagined the expression on the old git’s face, if he just told him the truth, when he asked him again, how he got along with his Co-Commander. Something along the lines of “Well, she came into my office and pleasured me with her mouth this morning, so I suppose splendidly.” Unfortunately, that would be political suicide. 

“And then an inspection of the C hangar with Major Cadwick and Commander Sa’onserei in the afternoon.” Mitaka mentioning his Co-Commander made Hux heart beat a little quicker. So he would actually see her again today. Damn him, if he knew how to deal with that. 

Selene quickly walked through the corridor leading to the elevators to the C hangar. She was late for her meeting with Major Cadwick and her Co-Commander, still not completely used to the size of the Finalizer. 

She could not help a smug smile on her face, as her thoughts turned towards Hux. The way he had been at her mercy this morning had been more than a little satisfying. Actually, she had been surprised how desperately he had begged for her touch. It seemed she was even better than she had thought. Her lips twitched. She could definitely get used to this. Although she did hope, she had successfully gotten him off this ridiculous path of self-denial. It might turn out a little bit frustrating for her, if not. 

A soft ping indicated the elevator’s arrival. When the doors opened, her eyes widened at it already being occupied by none other than the General himself. She noted that he had tamed his hair again, after she had thoroughly disheveled it earlier. His black uniform was impeccable as well. Only his eyes betrayed him, as she stepped into the elevator, lighting up with desire at the sight of her. 

“General Hux,” she greeted him very properly.  
“Commander Sa’onserei,” he answered, giving her a sidelong glance. 

Selene watched the elevator’s doors close in slow motion. “Major Cadwick wanted to discuss with us what to do…” 

She never got to finish the sentence, because the moment the doors where closed, he grabbed her and pressed her against the wall. Her surprised gasp was swallowed by his lips descending on hers forcefully. Well, that answered her question, if he planned to hold himself back any longer. 

His kiss was quite passionate and she kissed him back enthusiastically, savoring his taste, as his mouth opened over hers. One if his hands palmed her breast and she pressed herself against his hard body, her need a sudden ache in her own. “Blast it, Selene,” he murmured, his green eyes intend on her face, as he slid his thigh between her legs, lifting her up a little against the wall. The exquisite pressure exactly where she wanted it, made her moan, her hands burying into his hair, as she dragged him towards her for another wild kiss. 

The ping of the elevator arriving at its destination, made them both look towards the door in shock. “Kriff,” Selene cursed. Letting go of each other, they both hectically tried to righten their clothes. 

The opening doors revealed an already waiting Major Cadwick. The surprise turning to definite disapproval on the Major’s stern face, made quite clear she had immediately realized what they had been up to. 

“Major Cadwick,” Hux’ voice was more composed than anything she would have managed. As she looked at him, she realized what had most likely tipped the Major off. Her Co-Commander’s hair was in complete disarray from her touch, the red strands going in every direction. She tried to mouth it to him behind the Major’s back, as the older woman turned towards the hangar after greeting them with a raised eyebrow. He quickly patted at it, but she had to stifle a laugh, when she saw it defied all his attempts to tame it. 

The next hour was one of the longest in her entire life, Major Cadwick going through every single item from the Victorinox, wanting their decision, if it should be sent to Ellesmee for a more thorough analysis or go into storage, while her Co-Commander’s green eyes never left her. Although she could probably be accused of fanning the flames, since she did use every opportunity, when the First Order officer turned her back, to brush against him or give him a cheeky smile. 

“That should be all,” Major Cadwick finally concluded with a look at her datapad. 

“You can go ahead to the elevators, Major.” the General said, his eyes still on his Co-Commander. “I want to show the Commander something regarding the hangar doors.” 

“The hangar doors,” the older woman’s voice was very dry. “Indeed.” Her expression, when she left, was censuring enough, that Selene felt a little like a naughty school kid. 

“I fear Major Cadwick is not happy with our behavior,” she commented, as Hux grabbed her hand and dragged her farther into the hangar. 

“She probably thinks I am misusing my position to seduce you,” he pulled off his gloves, throwing them on one of the nearby supply crates without looking. “And while she somehow really respects you, I have the feeling she never liked me.” 

His hands warm on her skin even through the thin material of her blouse, she leaned into him, as he drew her closer. “Oh, how can she not, when you have so many obvious virtues?” Selene laughed. “Now, what is so interesting about the hangar doors?”

The feeling of his lips trailing over her neck, made her sigh softly. “Nothing, there are just no surveillance cameras over here,” he murmured, before grazing her earlobe with his teeth and teasing along the golden leaves adorning her ear tip with his tongue. It made her squirm against him, her breath already unsteady. 

“Oh, I wanted to do this for some time,” he whispered, obviously satisfied with her reaction. He breathed in audibly himself. “This is such a bad idea, you know that, don’t you?”

She turned around then and looked up at him with an excited smile. “Actually, I think it is a brilliant idea.” Hux’ lips twitched. “Of course, you do.” He kissed her again though, his tongue tangling with hers.

Desire urging her on, she led her hands wander over his chest, searching for the buttons of his uniform jacket. To her chagrin she did not find any and she growled in frustration. “Concealed button border,” he chuckled and straightened for a moment to undo them himself, throwing the jacket to the floor with a lot less care, than she would have thought possible. She only got a few seconds to touch him through the black undershirt he wore underneath, before his lips returned to hers and he walked her backwards to the supply grate, hefting her up and sitting her on top. He stepped between her legs then and started to open the buttons of her blouse one by one. 

She led herself sink back slowly until she was sprawled on top of the crate, very aware of his heated gaze, when he realized that she was only covered by a thin, lacy bra underneath her blouse. The sensation of his lips on her throat slowly travelling lower made her eyes close in pleasure. She did not protest, when he dragged her bra down, on the contrary, she could not help her body rising up slightly, eager for more of his touch. 

Fortunately, Hux obviously got her message, because his lips immediately caressed one breast, while his hand cupped the other. Selene could not stop a breathless moan from escaping her, when his tongue started to tease her nipple. It should not be the last she uttered in the next minutes, as he worshipped first one and then her other breast thouroughly, a wild pulse starting to beat between her legs. 

After a while, his lips began to wander lower over her stomach, making her squirm a little in anticipation. He hesitated for a moment, still a little uncertainty mixed in the desire she saw in his eyes, when she looked at him. 

“Please, tell me to stop, Selene,” he murmured against her skin. “Because I don’t think I can otherwise.”

What? Certainly not. “Don’t you dare stop now,” she answered and tugged on his hair intend to get him to continue. When he started to pull up her skirts and let his lips wander over her now exposed thigh, she realized where exactly this was going and she amended a little. “I mean, you don’t have to…” 

“Oh believe me, I want to,” the intense hunger on his face, as he pushed down her panties, convinced her he more than meant that. She should probably just lean back and enjoy this.  
When his touch skillfully played along her skin, making her shiver in want, but never really going where she needed it most, she suspected he was trying to pay her back for this morning. Well, she would not let her pride get in the way of her pleasure now. 

“Stars, please Armitage, stop teasing,” she gasped. “Mmm, eager, aren’t we?” he hummed against her skin and then his mouth closed over her core, her head going back wildly, as her fingers dug desperately into the grate. Oh kriff, she should have known he would be good at this, she thought giddily, as he teased her relentlessly, attentive to every small reaction. Embarrassingly soon she was so close to completion that pleasure tingled along her whole body. 

Suddenly she realized she wanted him inside her for this. “Stop,” she ground out. The flush on his face and his wild hair nearly made her giggle, when he stared up at her in disbelief. She sat up and reached for him, dragging him closer. “I need you.” When her hands went for his belt, he finally seemed to understand what she meant and a wild grin flashed over his face, transforming it completely. “Your wish is my command.” 

She would have complimented him on the speed he did drop his pants and his boxers with then, but he did not pause, immediately pulling her to him with his hand on her hip and entering her in one smooth thrust, making her gasp. As close as she had already been, it was enough to push her over the edge, her climax sending waves of pleasure through her body. 

When she opened her eyes again, it was to Hux holding himself very still and watching her with a look of such piercing want on his face, that it made something in her heart clench. “Kriff,” he groaned. „You are so beautiful, Selene.” And then he did start to move, one hand grabbing her thigh, while the other closed possessively around one of her breasts, his deep thrusts driving her wild, as the pleasure was nearly too much, so quickly after having come undone for the first time. 

“Oh stars,” she was dimly aware, she was moaning loudly, without any care for where they were, but she could not stop herself, her whole world only sensations now. “Selene,” Hux ground out. “You have to be more quiet. We are in a kriffing hangar.”

She took his hand then and raised it to her mouth, sucking one finger in to keep herself from crying out. Hux’ head went back at the gesture and the rhythm of his thrusts became unsteady. When he groaned and spilled inside her, the feeling pushed her over the edge again as well, the pleasure even more intense this time. 

The Finalizer even had impeccable hangar ceilings, Selene mused after having stared at them for some time afterwards with a blessedly blank mind. Then she became aware of that kriffing crate digging uncomfortably into her backside. “Ouch,” she murmured. 

A strong arm immediately dragged her against a firm male body, her partner’s warmth engulfing her comfortably. She leaned her head on his chest with a sigh. Mmmh, this was nice, she thought. His lips wandered over her temple in a soft caress.

“Did you know, you always switch to Zi’daya, when you are close to coming?” Hux murmured lazily, his elegant fingers playing with her hair.  
She could have countered that he tended to give her very tender kisses in the afterglow, but she had a suspicion he did it unconsciously, so she refrained. 

“Really? And aren’t we smug about it?” she just said with slightly narrowed eyes.  
He only chuckled at her tone and for a moment, she was taken aback by the look on his face. All relaxed and contend. It took years away from him. 

She should not be doing this, she realized. Sleeping with him was bad enough. Cuddling afterwards. Now, that was madness. 

As she buried her nose in his shirt, breathing in his scent, she resolved to get up in a few seconds. Or at least in a minute or two. 

The sudden alarm from the ship’s speakers made both of them flinch.  
“General Hux, Commander Sa’onserei please report to the Command Bridge immediately!”

“Kriff,” Selene cursed, looking around hectically for her comms. She finally found it on the floor next to the supply crate and bent down fishing for it. Ten missed messages from varying members of her crew. 

The last one from Briseis made her scrunch up her face in worry. Blast it, it seemed Trilla had somehow found out she was onboard the Finalizer and now wanted to see her. The Hutt was disturbingly fond of playing games for her own amusement and she loved doing so with Selene unfortunately. 

The Zi’daya glanced over at her Co-Commander inconspicuously. He had already dressed again and frowned at his own comms, clearly having some missed messages on it as well. Now, how could she prevent him from accompanying her to Lexus without raising his suspicions? 

“There seems to be a problem with the fuel. The fuel ship has stopped supplying after some orders from Lexus.” 

Selene started to bottom up her blouse again, trying to keep her tone unconcerned. “Trilla can be difficult. She probably just wants to coerce more credits out of us. Just let me handle it, I have dealt with her before.” 

“Perhaps a little reminder, who she is dealing with now, is in order then,” the General’s green eyes were all cool business again. “I don’t fancy paying those criminals any more credits than absolutely necessary.” 

Wonderful, Selene thought, really concerned now, the last thing she needed was Hux threatening her Huttese ally with the might of the First Order because he thought she overcharged. 

His eyes turned a lot softer, when he looked at her. “I fear your hair is even a worse mess than mine.” He tugged on her destroyed braid. Selene unbraided it quickly and tried to comb through her locks with her fingers. Giving up after only tangling it more, she just twisted it into a messy bun at the back of her head. She never wore her hair like that, but she would have to hope it did not register as unusual. 

“Blast it, we will have to go to the bridge straight away, don’t we? Before they sent out a search party.”

She gave Hux a quick once over trying to decide, if he was presentable enough.  
On anyone else the small things like the slightly wrinkled uniform jacket and the unruly hair would not be so bad, but as stiffly impeccable he always looked there was a marked difference. Her fingers swiftly straightened a few lines, but any keen observer would surely notice. 

“Don’t worry,” her Co-Commander said with an amused twitch to his lip at her fussing. “if anyone seems suspicious, we just chastise them for something trivial and give out a demerit to divert their attention. That always works.” 

Masir’s hazel eyes lightened up in joy as they fell on Briseis, who had entered the A hangar, casting her gaze around, as if searching for someone. Glancing around himself to see, if the coast was clear, he leaned in for a welcome kiss, she granted him with a small smile. “You’re searching for me?” he asked with a smile of his own. The last days had been blissful, the two of them using every possible excuse to spend time with each other. Time that mostly passed with her in his arms, her lips more often than not pressed to his. 

“Unfortunately not,” she answered. “I can’t find Selene anywhere. We have a problem with the fuel supply and she is not answering her comms. That kriffing Hutt always wants to deal only with Selene, she has some kind of obsession with her.” 

“Mmh, I have not seen her since the morning meeting to be honest.” 

“You will probably be lucky in the C hanger, I just had a meeting with her and the General there, “ a cool voice commented. Major Cadwick had passed them on their way to the corridor and obviously heard what they were discussing. “Although I would advise you to wait a little or else they might be still occupied.” 

“What?” Brieseis’ turquoise eyes widened in shock, clearly understanding the insinuation behind the words in the same way he did. 

The Major just looked over her shoulder and raised an eyebrow. “And tell Khi’sheko I want my winnings. I actually picked today on his little bet.” 

Disbelief quickly morphing into anger flashed over the Zi’daya pilot’s face. “Not going to do something reckless, my ass. I am going to wring her neck this time,” she grumbled. 

When Briseis immediately started towards the elevators to the C hangar, Masir had to jog to keep up with her, his voice turning concerned.  
“Do you really think, this is a good idea?” He tried to caution her. He did not fancy being sent to sanitation indefinitely, because he had interfered into Hux getting it on with Sa’onserei. 

“Do you know, what exactly she is probably doing?” Briseis ground out, as they entered the elevator and she hammered on the buttons, her face still fierce.  
“Mmh, yeah you know, they are both adults and…” 

But it seemed she was not prepared to listen to him, as she left the elevator the second the doors opened at the hangar level. 

The sound of a woman moaning quite loudly made Masir’s eyes widen in astonishment. It seemed he had been wrong after all, when he had said that Hux did not know how to treat a woman like Sa’onserei. As Briseis’ dash ended suddenly at a corner leading deeper into the hangar and he saw her eyes widen in surprise, he swiftly stepped up to her. Even though the scene before them made him blink for a second as well, he was quick-witted enough to put his hand over the blonde Zi’daya’s mouth keeping her from saying something. While he could appreciate the way Sa’onserei looked like topless, he could definitely have done without catching his General with his pants down. 

“Interrupting now would be just cruel,“ he murmured into Briseis’ ear and swiftly dragged her back to the elevator. Her eyes flashed dangerously at him, although she did not fight him. He just hoped they did not make any sound, but then he had the feeling their two Co-Commanders would not even have realized it, if the Finalizer exploded around them. 

The moment he let go of her back in the elevator, Briseis rounded at him, her eyes narrowing in annoyance, when she saw the look on his face. “You actually think this is funny, don’t you?” 

Masir tried to wipe the amused grin of his face, but to no avail. “Catching Mister Prim and Proper at bending his Co-Commander over a supply crate in the hangar?” He chuckled. “That is more than a little hilarious, yes.” 

Briseis very obviously did not see any humour in the situation. “That is my best friend he is bending over a crate. Stars, what in the blazes of the universe is she thinking?”

Masir laughed. ”To be honest I am not sure there is a lot of thinking involved.” As he saw that there was real concern on the blonde Zi’daya’s face, he tried to reassure her.  
“I mean, I can understand that you are not thrilled, but underneath the prickly exterior Hux is actually not so bad.” 

“Not so bad? Compared to who? Emporer Palpatine? Darth Vader? A Huttese crime lord?” Brisei’s expression turned completely incredulous. “The list of atrocities that man has committed is longer than I even want to remember.” 

The obvious disdain in her voice made a cold unease settle in Masir’s stomach. After all he had flown countless missions under Hux’ orders that she clearly counted among the General’s crimes. He suddenly remembered Opan’s cautioning words that the Zi’daya’s allegiances might not be as firmly on the First Order side, as they had hoped. 

When Briseis had hesitated to turn their relationship more intimate, he had thought it was mostly an issue of trust, since they did not know each other that long. But what, if her reluctance had been triggered by something completely different? As one of Sa’onserei’s closest confidents, she would surely know, if there were any plans to double-cross them. 

“You mean crimes he has committed for the First Order in this war?” he said softly, watching her reaction carefully.  
It was why he saw the flash of caution in her eyes, before she gave him a very carefully neutral answer. “Even in a war there are limits to what one should be prepared to do in order to win.” 

“Mmh,” the captain felt dread rise up in him. He could not get himself to ask the question that was pricking at his mind. And are we on the same side of this war?  
Because what would he do, if her answer was not what he wished for? 

“Do you think that has been going on for some time?” he inquired, changing the topic.  
Briseis shook her head. “It definitely wasn’t a week ago.” She gave him a playful smile, leaning closer. “Although I have to admit I was a little preoccupied myself the last few days.” 

“I wonder with what.” Masir let his hand wander into her blond locks, tipping her head up to him and claiming her lips in a very thorough kiss. As he indulged in her warmth, a part of his mind though could not stop the first whispers of real worry going through it. 

“Princess Selene, how wonderful to see you again.” The dark eyes of the elaborately dressed human male on the holo screen lightened up considerably, as she and Hux entered the Finalizer’s command bridge. “Her excellency will be ecstatic that you will grace our drab halls with your bright presence again.” 

“Mekat” Selene inclined her head in greeting. The good-looking middle-aged man had been Trilla’s aide for some years now and she actually liked him. He was one of the few, who was able to curb the Hutt’s fondness for manipulative games at least a little. “As much as I would love to, I fear we are somewhat pressed for time. We are on an important mission.” 

“Ah, you know my mistresses fondness for you, your highness.” Mekat gave her an apologetic smile, his heavily khol-lined eyes blinking slowly. “I fear she will insist on at least a short visit, before you leave again.” What meant they would get no fuel, if they did not indulge Trilla’s whims. “The company you keep has made her very curious.” Mekat’s eyes slid to her Co-Commander. 

Selene threw a glance at Khendrik and Shima, who had been talking with the aide, while everyone had waited for her and the General. Perhaps she could convince Hux that it would be sufficient, if she quickly went down to Lexus with her crew on her own?  
“Fine, only a short visit, though.”  
Mekat’s smile turned brilliant at her acquiescence. “If your mission by chance has anything to do with the missing ships in this sector, we might even have some interesting information for you.” 

Kriff, now it would be nearly impossible to keep Hux from coming with her. 

After they had signed off, she turned to him, still adamant to try her luck.  
Before she could say anything though, Lieutenant Tosla stepped up to them and saluted sharply.  
“We have already prepared you command shuttle, General.” 

“Perfect,” Hux made a prompting gesture towards the corridor. “Shall we, Commander?” 

Stars, why did they have to be so damn efficient at the First Order? She had hoped to get at least a few minutes on the Evenfall to freshen up, before they went planetside. 

As they made their way to the hangar, Khendrik and Captain Opan joining them after a short discussion, who would go to Lexus with them, she commented softly. “You don’t have to accompany me. I am sure you have more important things to do, than making nice with one of the Hutts.” 

Hux’ green eyes narrowed for a second, as he regarded her.  
“I don’t trust the Hutts. They are criminals, every single one of them. The galaxy would be a much better place without them. If the Order was not caught up in that irritating conflict with the Resistance, we would have dealt with them long ago.” 

Selene frowned. “While I do agree that their propensity for slavery and crimes is unfortunate, I do think genocide is taking it a step too far.” She gave her Co-Commander a stern look. If she could not keep him from coming with her, she did not want him to completely ruin her relationship with her Huttese ally. “We actually rely on that fuel supply quite often, so I would be thankful, if you could keep your opinion to yourself. Do you speak Huttese?” 

“Of course not.” Hux glanced at her incredulously. “As I said, the Hutts are criminals and the Order only teaches the languages of civilized people.”

“Fine,” Selene interrupted him. “I think it is better, if I do the talking then. Trilla can be difficult and she does not like the First Order any more, than you value her people. Don’t let her provoke you, though, she is quite fond of playing games.” 

The expression on the General’s face turned annoyed. “I am capable of being diplomatic, you know,” he grumbled. 

“Like you were with me?” she nearly answered, but refrained. Considering their tumultuous relationship, this was perhaps not the best example.

As Selene’s eyes fell on the sign for a restroom, she gave the three men a short nod, before ducking inside. “If you would excuse me for a moment.”

She had to do something about her hair at least. Trilla was too attentive to go down to Lexus looking like this. When she saw herself in the restrooms mirror, her eyes widened. Stars, her hair was a fright. And there was still a distinctive flush to her cheeks, that did not seem to go away. She glanced up at the sound of the door opening a few seconds later. 

“Brie…” she greeted her friend, who was entering the restroom with a strangely composed expression on her face, with a smile.  
“Trilla wants to see you,” the blonde pilot commented. Stepping up behind her, she reached for Selene’s hair, starting to untangle it. “Let me do this, you are only making it worse.” 

“I know,” Selene answered Briseis’ first comment. “We are actually going down to Lexus now.” 

Her friend started to subdue her hair in a tidy braid again. “Ouch,” Selene complained, Briseis' tugs on the pale strands more than a little harsh. There was a peculiar look in her turquoise eyes, as she met hers in the mirror. “You will have to be careful,“ she commented. “Trilla might let something slip concerning Venya station and you surely don’t want Hux to know about that.” 

“No, definitely not.” The last thing she wanted, was for the Order to get its greedy paws on their adamantium. Pryde would be ecstatic, if he had that kind of additional funds at his disposal. 

Briseis finished the braid, putting her ribbon back around it at the end. She raised an eyebrow. “All done. You should tell Hux to keep his hands out of your hair next time, though.”

Oh, kriff.

Selene was finally able to read the emotions in her friend’s eyes. Disapproval and anger.  
Before she could answer, Briseis was out of the door, leaving her with her racing thoughts. However her friend had found out about her little tryst with her Co-Commander, it had not sounded, as if she was just suspecting it. She would have to deal with this, when she came back.

When she joined Hux and the others at the Command shuttle, she noted the General’s hair was a lot more orderly again as well. It seemed same as her, he had used the time to fix it. 

On their way down to the planet, she could not keep herself from warning her Co-Commander a few more times to not let the Hutt provoke him. She was strangely nervous about this. After her third comment, Hux snapped at her in obvious exasperation. “I am not completely incompetent, Selene.” 

The casual use of her first name, made Captain Opan throw a curious glance at them. Stars, if they were not more careful, the whole ship would soon know, there was something going on between them. 

Selene looked out of the shuttle’s viewport, as they neared their destination. The Huttese buildings sprawled over a hilltop between lush vegetation, the elegant structure looking more like a palace than an outpost at the edge of the galaxy. 

“That isn’t just a backwater outpost,” Hux commented, his eyes thoughtful. No, it wasn’t. And most of it had been built in the last three years. Their alliance had not been to Trilla’s disadvantage.

As they left the shuttle, Mekat already waited for them at the landing field, his silken clothes even more striking in person. 

“Your Highness,” he greeted her with a bow. “General Hux.” 

His expressive face turned apologetic. “I fear her Excellency is a little nervous about your company, Princess Selene. I will have to insist on only one person accompanying you inside.” 

Selene opened her mouth, intend on using that opportunity to finally get rid of her Co-Commander, but he beat her to it with his answer. “Then I will come with you.“  
When he saw her glance back at Khendrik, whose face showed his discomfort with this development, he raised an eyebrow. “I am sure I am capable of ensuring your safety.” 

The heat and high humidity were oppressive, as they walked to the impressive double doors leading inside the building, the cries of some local avian creatures sounding in the air every now and then. Like all Hutts Trilla had a preference for warmer climates, probably a reminder of her homeplanet, and had selected a planet to inhabite accordingly.

“Your highness?” Hux asked with an amused twitch to his lip, as they followed the aide through opulent corridors, the marble floors and golden inlays on the walls speaking of the owner’s obvious wealth. Selene shook her head. She had tried in vain to get Trilla and her court to call her by her name. She gave her Co-Commander a cheeky smile, though. “Careful, I might insist you call me by my title as well. I can imagine a situation or two, where that might be fun.” 

He just scoffed and looked around with a frown. “I did not know, smuggling was quite that lucrative.” As he realized what exactly the golden pictures on the walls depicted, his eyes widened a little. Selene grinned at his expression, glancing at the very explicit depictions of members of species all over the galaxy in very imaginative versions of intercourse. 

“Is that even anatomically possible,” Hux murmured at one picture, a blush on his cheeks. She laughed. “Well, I am flexible enough…” He gave her a wide-eyed look. 

Selene leaned closer and murmured. “One last remark. Trilla is actually not fond of the fighting pits. She likes to watch a different sort of performances.”  
“What?” her Co-Commander sounded more than a little scandalized. 

Stepping through another set of impressive, wrought double doors, they had reached the courtyard in which the Hutt held court. Selene noted that guards where posted between the golden columns that lined the courtyard. That had not been the case on her other visits. It seemed having General Hux on her planet really made Trilla nervous.

Taking in the state of dress or more precisely state of undress of most of the court’s members that sprawled on colorful cushions on the floor, Selene thought she and Hux were definitely overdressed. The Hutt herself throned on an immense mountain of golden cushions at the end of the room, her slug like body an intense lilac color, a silken red cape draped over her. Small yellow eyes regarded them with a shrewd intelligence in them, her wide mouth grinning.  
Kriff, Trilla looked, as if she was planning some kind of mischief.

Three male slaves kneed next to the Hutt presenting various fruits and beverages to her, their naked bodies only covered by some golden paint, while a blue and a rose-colored Twi’lek girl were enthusiastically kissing on a raised platform. At least they were still scantily dressed, Selene had walked in to a lot more raunchy scenes on the Hutt’s court. She saw the revulsion in Hux’ eyes, as he took everything in. Well, at least you could not accuse Trilla of not following a theme. 

“Her Excellency, the wonderful, the magnificent Trilla Nemase Orlia, daughter of Gara, daughter of Shella,” Mekat introduced their host with a deep bow. 

“Princess Selene,” Trilla’s laugh made her whole body shake, as she greeted her in Huttese. “What a marvelous day, when the bright star of Ellesmee is gracing us with her presence.” 

“Trilla,” Selene smiled at the Hutt indulgently. ”It is good to see you again. I hope you are well?” 

“Mmmh, only the common aches. You know I am not getting younger,” the Hutt patted her belly. To Selene’s knowledge, she was not older than three hundred years and in her prime for her species. Those yellow eyes turned curious. “But I am more interested in your news, princess. You keep interesting company nowadays.” Her gaze turned to her Co-Commander. 

“If we could switch to Basic?” Selene interjected. “The General is unfortunately not proficient in your language.” 

“Mmh,” Trilla’s expression, as she did so, indicated that she knew the Order’s stance on her people quite well. “General Hux of the First Order. Your reputation precedes you.” Her tone made clear that had not been a compliment. 

“Your Excellency,” Hux’ own voice was cool, but at least he inclined his head politely. 

Suddenly the Hutt’s eyes widened in surprise and she took a deep breath. With a slight unease, Selene remembered having read that the Huttese species had a very keen sense of smell and taste due to their origins on a swamp planet full of poisonous plants. There was no way Trilla could have smelled on them, what they had been doing earlier, was there?

Her words were not showing, if there was any truth to that rumour, though.  
“Now, how has it come to pass that you are travelling on a First Order ship, princess? Are the Zi’daya now part of the First Order?” 

Selene kept her face carefully composed, knowing she would have to tread carefully here. While the Hutts would accept a temporary alliance with the Order, anything more permanent might endanger their own arrangements. 

“A temporary alliance for a mission. We have both been affected by some disappearances here in the Outer Rim. You have not noticed anything unusual by chance?” The Hutts were one of the oldest species in the galaxy so it could not hurt to ask. 

“Ah,” Trilla’s eyes lightened up in interest and she sat up straighter. “So we are not the only ones then. We lost the crew of two ships in the last month. One had my nephew on board.” Her eyes closed for a moment in obvious dismay. Selene knew the Hutts had few children and where quite protective of them. ”A young Hutt on his first trade run for the family. His loss is felt keenly.” 

“I am sorry,” Selene said softly. “You said you only lost the crews but not the ships themselves? Have you found anything on board? Any information could help us find out who might be responsible for this.”

“Only a few drops of blood that match with no known species in this galaxy.” Trilla’s face showed pained pride.”It seems Garo did get at least one hit in. I can give it to you, if you want.” 

“That would be very helpful,” Selene answered truthfully.

“As for who is responsible. Some of my court seem to think the ‘Cold One’s’ returned.”

“The ‘Cold One’s’?” 

“Oh. An old Huttest tale to scare the children. You know the deal. If you don’t do your daily mud bath the ‘Cold One’s” will come and suck out your soul. My mother was very fond of telling it.” Trilla gave them a wide grin. “I was quite the unruly little Huttling.” 

Selene glanced at Hux. That did sound a lot like, who they were searching for.

“As you can imagine taking care of this threat, will be in the best interest of everyone in this sector.” The General’s voice was unfamiliar smooth. “However, we do need your fuel supply, if we want to continue our search.”

The Zi’daya heir nearly gave her Co-Commander a surprised look. He really was capable of being diplomatic.

“Of course, General Hux. I am very happy to help you, now that we are getting to know each other. After all Princess Selene’s friends are my friends.” Trilla gave a sign to Mekat. “Resume the delivery.” 

“Before we continue our wonderful little chat there is something else.” The Hutt stared at Selene intensely. “Something private. If you could step closer, dear princess. My eyes are not, what they used to be.” 

Wondering what her ally was planning now, Selene humored her and stepped up to the mount of cushions. Trilla’s short arm moved quicker, than she would have thought possible, her hand closing around her wrist and drawing her closer swiftly. The Hutt’s yellow eyes held sly cunning as her long tongue slid out of her wide mouth and slowly glided over Selene’s neck. 

Despite the wet sensation making her shudder in revulsion, Selene quickly threw a look at Hux, moving her free arm in a reassuring gesture. And just in time, as the way her Co-Commander’s hand was playing with his uniform sleeve told her he had already reached for his hidden blade. She was quite sure Trilla did not want to harm her. This was only part of one of her games.

Indeed the Hutt let out a husky laugh after a few moments, her eyes glittering in unconcealed glee at being able to unsettle her human guests.  
“So my nose has not deceived me after all. You taste of sex and pleasure, princess.” 

She glanced at Hux for a moment before turning to Selene again, switching to Huttese. “I have to admit I am more than a little surprised. I would not have thought your tastes run into that direction.”

The Zi’daya took a deep breath, the Hutt’s unsettlingly intense scent of musk filling her nose. Blast it, it seemed the rumors about a Hutt’s superior senses of smell and taste had not been exaggerated after all. She needed to play this very carefully, if she did not want to give her mercurial ally any more ammunition against her than necessary. 

“Oh believe me, he has some unexpectedly useful skills.” She gave her a deliberately sassy smile. “I just had to make clear, who is giving the orders.” An insinuation that she was just using the General for her own means was definitely something the Hutt would understand. 

Trilla ‘s guffawing laugh made half her court giggle as well, the Hutt smacking her lips in amusement. “So, as so often the men of your species are the same underneath it all, no matter how well they play at being prim and proper. So easy to control, if a beautiful woman spreads her legs for them.” Those yellow eyes turned shrewd. “Don’t worry, princess, your little secret is quite safe with me.” What meant she would bandy this information all over the galaxy, if it served her own goals. “We all like to dip into dark waters from time to time, don’t we?” 

Her Co-Commander’s green eyes had narrowed in annoyance by now, him not being able to follow their conversation, but clearly aware of the topic.  
Well, not her problem, if he was too arrogant to learn one of the galaxy’s most widely spoken languages.

Trilla waved one of her slaves closer, a slim dark-haired girl that did not look older than sixteen. “Mira, please show the princess, what we found on our ships.” As Selene followed the girl to one of the doors, that led deeper inside the palace, the Hutt levelled her gaze on Hux. “Only her though, I don’t want the First Order crawling all over my property.” 

Armitage Hux felt a twinge of unease, as his Co-Commander left the courtyard with one of the Hutt’s slaves, the way Selene’s eyes met his with a hard look in them for a moment, very clearly indicating that she wanted him to behave, while she was away.  
Although she seemed confident she could trust the Hutt, he did not like leaving her out of his sight without any backup. 

He was already more than a little vexed that they had obviously talked about him without him being able to understand a word. Perhaps the Order’s stance on the Huttese language was not the wisest after all. As much as it disgusted him, the Hutts still had a sizeable influence in the galaxy. 

The Hutt’s small eyes glittered between her lilac folds of flesh, as she regarded him from her perch atop that mountain of pillows. She lazily picked up a fruit out of the bowel one of the kneeling slaves presented to her, biting into it, so that the juice ran down her wide lips. 

“So how is it going General Hux? Has the First Order finally been able to defeat the Resistance?”  
She grinned toothily. “Or are all two hundred of them still at large?” 

“The conflict with the Resistance is proceeding satisfactory,” Hux answered coldly, not deigning to react to her provocations. 

“Mmm, and still you, the First Order’s most renowned general, are out here on a mission, instead of leading the charge against them. A curious decision by your Supreme Leader.”  
Trilla’s tone indicated she knew his precarious position in the Order quite well.  
“Although, you could have made a worse deal. All tangled up with one of the most beautiful women in the galaxy. There will be countless men, who envy you.” 

Kriff, so she had really concluded that he and his Co-Commander had been intimate. And he did not have a clue, what Selene had said to her earlier. Knowing her it had probably been something completely inappropriate. 

“I am not in the habit of discussing my personal life with criminals,” the General ground out, his annoyance making his voice harsh. 

The Hutt’s smile was derogatory. “You should be careful General Hux. The princess may fuck the monster out of morbid curiosity, but don’t expect to be taken home to lie cozy in front of the hearth.” 

His fury at that creature calling him a monster made him forget to moderate his own words. “You are aware that there is a resurgent class stardestroyer under my command in your orbit?” 

Trilla practically crowed. “Oh, now that is how I know the First Order. So quick to resort to threats.” Her eyes turned piercing. “I hid a mark, didn’t I?” She laughed mockingly. “Oh, isn’t that touching. You really have a weak spot for our bright princess, don’t you, General? Sadly, I don’t think someone like you will ever be more than a dirty little secret she has sullied herself with for her.”

Her cruel words affected him more than he should have let on, the sickening doubt that there was some truth to them stoking his ire even more.  
“You wretched creature, I should order this whole planet to be bombed immediately.” 

His threat made a few of the guards that had been lining the courtyard take a step closer, more than one hand straying to a blaster. Kriff, that was escalating quickly. He might have made a mistake in letting her get to him. Hux tried to reign in his temper. 

“Now, there is only one problem,” the Hutt sat up straighter, her slug like body moving in waves. “Your stardestroyer is all up there… and you, General, are here all alone.” 

Before he could answer, Selene reentered through the door she had left through earlier with quick steps. Her golden eyes widened, as she took in the tense atmosphere. 

“Princess, I hope you have found what you are looking for.” Trilla’s voice was jovial again, as she addressed her. She inclined her head, as if in deep remorse. “I fear I will have to rethink that fuel delivery, though. Mekat, tell our captain to stop the supply to the Finalizer,” she had turned to her aide. 

Selene stepped up next to Hux, her gaze full of disbelieving anger, as she met his for a moment. She summoned up a questioning look for the Hutt.  
“I thought we had an agreement, Trilla? I did not expect Gara’s daughter to go back on her word.” 

“We have an agreement, my dear.” The Hutt’s eyes were narrowing dangerously. “This does not include, whoever you are sleeping with this week. And I do not take kindly to threats from the Order’s slavering hounds.” 

The General made a move to reciprocate her newest insult, but Selene grabbed his arm and stepped closer to him. “Stop it and let me handle it,” she hissed at him. She turned to the Hutt again. 

“Fine, we will pay you double.” His Co-Commander gave their host an insincere smile. “And I apologize for any inconvenience my Co-Commander may have caused you.” When he wanted to protest, her fingers bored into his arm quite painfully and she murmured under her breath. “We need that fuel.” 

Trilla laughed, obviously quite amused by their little display. “It seems you do have him under control quite well.” She winked. “Now, don’t be too strict with him later.” 

Before he could fire up at that, Selene gave a regal nod in parting, clearly intend on getting him out of here as quickly as possible. “Your Excellency, I fear we have to leave. As always, it was a pleasure. May the stars guide us back together soon.”

The Hutt inclined her head as well. “Oh yes, this has been quite the pleasure indeed. I think I did not have so much fun in a long time. May the stars guide you, princess. And good luck on your mission, you will surely need it.” She leaned back into her cushions. “Metak, please lead our guests back to their ship.”

As her aide indicated for them to leave with him through the open double doors of the courtyard, she added one parting remark. “I would be inclined to give you the fuel for free, you know.” Her voice turned into an unsettling mixture between an invitation and a taunt. ”If you two indulged me with a little performance.” 

“Keep walking,” Selene murmured to him, when he tensed up in outrage at the immoral offer, her grip on his arm forceful. It was quite impressive, how she managed to hiss at him with barely moving her lips. She looked back at the Hutt over her shoulder with a wink. “You know me Trilla, I am just a little too shy for that.” 

“A pity,” the Hutt’s jeering laughter followed them on their way back to their ship. 

Selene kept her temper in check, until they had reached his command shuttle and said their goodbyes to the Huttese aide, although Hux saw in the way her eyes flashed and she pressed her lips together that she was quite incensed. Not that he wasn’t angry himself. She had basically let that creature mock him for her amusement. 

“Have you been successful?” Captain Shi’seko’s questioning look turned concerned, as he took in both their annoyed faces.

“We have secured the fuel delivery and I got my hands on a very interesting blood sample.” His Co-Commander passed a small container to the Zi’daya captain, before turning towards Hux, her catlike eyes narrowing furiously. “No thanks to you, though. Can’t I leave you alone for five kriffing minutes without you threatening to blow up a planet?”

“Not here,” he ground out, taking her by the arm and leading her into the small private cabin in the rear of the shuttle. He was quite sure she did not really want to have that discussion in front of her bodyguard and Opan. 

“If you had heard, what she said to me you would not be surprised at all. That creature…” he started, when they were alone. 

Selene shook her head in disbelief. “I warned you, Armitage, that she was going to provoke you. Why did you let her?” 

He stared at her. “Provoke me? That went far beyond that. Did you hear what she just proposed to us?” 

Selene sighed. “Rhea give me strength. She always does that when I come here. It is just one of her games.” 

“Oh, how many men have you brought here then?” Only after the words had left his mouth, he realized how that question sounded. Blast it, the Hutt’s insinuations had definitely messed with his mind. 

“None so far,” his Co-Commander raised an expressive eyebrow. “And after today’s experience I will certainly refrain from doing so in the future.” She shrugged. “I guess she would have provided someone. She knows I would never indulge her, though.”

How could she be so kriffing casual about all this? He still could not get the way the Hutt and her court had laughed about him out of his head. He had always hated it, when people made fun of him. 

“And what did you tell her about me behind my back? That you have me all wrapped around your little finger? Very smart telling that criminal, that we are…” he trailed off. Actually, they had never gotten to talk about what the kriff they were doing. 

“That we are what?” The Zi’daya’s face showed clear frustration with him. “She had already smelled you on me. Denying it, would have only made her more aware of the fact that we don’t want that information to get out. Believe me, we would have paid more than double for that fuel then. Under the circumstances, telling her that I am only using you, was the wisest move. Or should I have told her we are madly in love?” She scoffed with a sarcastic look on her face. 

Something about the way she said it, made his anger flame up again. “And aren’t you trying to manipulate me, Selene?” He stepped closer to her, so she had to look up at him. “Do you really think me so stupid that I do not realize you tried to keep me from coming here with you? What is your real relationship with the Hutt? You have some other kind of business deal with her, have you not?”

Her golden eyes turned very cold then, but not before he saw unease pass through them for a second. She was hiding something from him.  
“Even, if that were true. Why should I tell you? Don’t deceive yourself into thinking that you have any kind of right to my secrets now, only because we fucked a few times.”

What a way to put him into his place. With that icy look on her face, nothing reminded him any more of the passionate woman, who had practically melted at his touch earlier.  
Her words were so similar to the taunts the Hutt had hurled at him, that he felt a strange nausea settle in his stomach. It made him lash out at her in turn. 

Bending close to her ear, his tone turned more than a little menacing. “Don’t worry, I don’t ask out of some misguided sentimentality. I just want to remind you that you have an agreement with the Order regarding this sector. And I am sure you do not want to find out what happens, if you break it.”

He had actually planned to leave her with that, but being so close to her, made him long for her warmth again. Just a small reassurance that she still wanted this. Indeed her breath hitched quite satisfactory, when he leaned forward to let his lips wander along her neck towards her ear. He knew this was one of her weak spots by now. 

“You are not really threatening me at one moment and then trying to feel me up the next,” Selene’s voice was furious, though, and she gave him a disbelieving look. 

“Now, don’t play coy,” he added a hint of teeth to his caress, making her shudder against him. “I remember quite well, how you begged me to take you in the hangar.” 

He moved his mouth to hers, his lips insistent. For a moment, she opened up at his touch and her tongue tangled with his wildly, then there was a very sudden pain, as her teeth bored into his lip. He tasted his own blood, when he let go of her quickly and made a step backwards. 

“Do not seek to take more, than I am willing to give, Armitage,” her eyes sparked fire at him, as they regarded each other, both breathing heavily. 

Hux put a gloved finger to the small wound on his lip, a few drops of blood clinging to it.  
Before he could react, there was a loud banging on the door. 

“You have to come quickly.” There was real urgency in Captain Shi’seko’s voice. “There has been a distress signal. Venya mining station is under attack.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your comments and kudos.
> 
> I would love to hear your thoughts on the new chapter.
> 
> I surely had a blast writing the scenes at the Hutt palace. Trilla licking Selene is of course a little homage to that scene between Jabba and Princess Leia. 
> 
> So since this is not (only ;-) ) a kissing story you can look forward to a lot of action in the next chapter.
> 
> Chapter 10 - Into danger 
> 
> Selene makes Hux a surprising offer, he is tempted to agree to  
> The attack on Venya station makes clear how dangerous their enemy really is  
> On a mission planetside Selene and Hux will have to rely on each other, if they want to survive


	10. Into danger

The past is a ghost that haunts us. Ghosts must be banished.  
Emperor Palpatine

The Zi’daya captain’s urgent message prompted Selene to action immediately. Without so much as a glance at Hux, she was through the door, firing questions at Shi’seko in their own language. 

Hux took a moment to collect himself. Her accusation, that he was trying to take more than she was willing to give, hit an uncomfortable nerve. He had really taken his anger at the Hutt - and if he was honest at himself for falling prey to her provocations - out on Selene. And that after having despised the derogatory way his father had treated women for years.

It had been alarming how easily Trilla had been able to narrow in on an apprehension, he had not even realized he felt. The bright star of Ellesmee, the galaxy’s most sought after bachelorette sleeping with Brendol Hux’ bastard, Snoke’s butcher. Oh, he knew all the little names people called him behind his back. The Hutt’s reaction was probably only a small taste of what people would say, if this ever got out. And the insecure part of him that had wondered from the start, why she even let him touch her, began to suspect that Selene would one day regret this. 

It should not have mattered, since whatever was between them could never be more than a short-lived tryst. But it smarted. Much more than it should. Because as irrational and ill-advised as it was, he could not help wanting her to want him. The wild way she had reacted to his touch earlier in the hangar had been heady. As had been the warm feeling of her laying her head on his chest afterwards. This constant need to reaffirm her attraction to him was more than a little worrying, though. 

Especially, since it seemed he had been right in suspecting she was keeping things from him. 

When he stepped into the command shuttle’s cockpit, everyone’s eyes were trained on the holoscreen, showing a dark-haired man in his forties, wearing the Zi’daya colors, his background nondescript dark walls. His blue eyes held more than a hint of panic, darting around nervously and sweat darkened the hair at his temple. “If anyone hears this, please sent support immediately. We have lost all outer space surveillance at once. Half of the defense torrents are down. Something is out there and it’s…“ Horror flashed over his face, his breath misting the air. “They are coming.” The screen turned black suddenly. 

Her golden eyes troubled, Selene addressed their pilot, urgency in her voice. “This shuttle has hyperspace capabilities, doesn’t it? We have to go there straight away. The coordinates are…” 

“We will do nothing of that sort,” Hux interrupted her. “We will return to the Finalizer, analyze the situation as protocol dictates and then decide the next steps.” 

His words made the other occupants in the cockpit look at him. Both Opan’s and Shi’seko’s eyes flitted to his maltreated lip, although their reaction was quite different. While Shi’seko’s gaze hardened, Opan just raised his eyebrow. It would have been too much to hope that one of them was gullible enough to think that he miraculously bit himself in the five minutes he had been alone with his Co-Commander. 

“Oh, now he adheres to protocol,” the tone of Selene’s voice was scathing. “How long do you think we should wait to make sure everyone is definitely dead?” 

Hux ignored her remark and addressed Shi’seko. It was clear she was too upset to think this through rationally. “How old is this recording?” 

The grey-eyed captain glanced at his commander for a second, but answered him. “A little more than two hours. It seems they sent it out over an open channel, since the direct lines were all down. Unfortunately, it took some time until someone caught it there between all the background noises.” 

“So that attack will have already happened by now.” Hux surmised. “I expect the station does have some military defenses?”

Shi’seko threw another glance at Selene, obviously unsure, if he should answer that question. She did not react for a moment, busying herself with glaring out the viewport.  
“Yes, a ring of defense torrents and ten Tri-Wasps,” she snapped finally.

“Well,” the General said. ”then you could perhaps explain to me, how a shuttle with only basic cannons would be of any additional use in this situation instead of taking a stardestroyer there.” 

The gaze his Co-Commander levelled at him could have cut glass. He returned it calmly.  
“He is right Selene,” Shi’seko murmured. “We will help nobody by just rushing in without thought.” The Zi’daya flinched, as his Commander’s angry glare landed on him. 

“Fine,” she ground out between clenched teeth, “it seems I am overruled.”  
Hux gave the pilot the order to return to the Finalizer as quickly as possible, before motioning to the others to join him in the main room of the shuttle. 

Sitting down on one of the seats there, he levelled a cool gaze at his Co-Commander. She had sat down as far away from him as possible, anger still visible in every tense line of her body.

“Any information you can give us about this mining station?” Hux inquired. “How far away from here are the coordinates? How many people are stationed there? Any additional defenses to the ones you mentioned?”

He had his suspicions about the mining station, but he was not above forcing her to spell it out.  
Indeed, she could not meet his eyes, instead staring at her hands that had clenched on her lap.  
“Not far. Venya station is actually in this sector. Two star systems further out from here.” Her words were hesitant, as if she was forcing herself to go on against her better judgment. “In total more than 20.000 people live and work there. Commander Pa’lenna is an experienced station commander. I have known him for years.”

“And what are you mining there?” Hux’ voice turned deceptively light. “Adamantium by chance?”

A mining station with 20.000 people was no small enterprise. He was not sure, if he should admire her guts to do something like that illegally in First Order territory or shake his head at the recklessness. Well, that certainly explained what kind of deal she had with the Hutt. Protection in exchange for a share of the yield. Remembering the obvious wealth of the Hutt’s property, he wondered how much the Zi’daya payed her. His eyes narrowed, those were credits that technically belonged to the First Order. 

Selene’s eyes flashed, as she looked at him again. “You enjoy catching me at something like this, don’t you?” she accused him.  
“Immensely,” he answered truthfully, not even trying to hide the amused twitch to his lip at seeing her squirm. The movement made the small wound she had left there throb slightly in pain. “I do wonder how you will try to wiggle out of it, though. This is First Order territory after all.”

She scoffed. “Technical, yes. In reality I doubt Pryde has even flown more than one patrol out here.”

Hux was unimpressed. “Then you were free to address High Command with a request for more support.” His smile turned a little predatory. “But you would have needed to notify them of the adamantium deposit, of course.” 

“Oh, and gotten what? A pat on the back for my troubles?” Selene’s face was fierce. ”That is my kriffing adamantium. I found it.” 

“No, you are stealing it from the First Order,” the General clarified, watching her reaction.

“It is not really stealing, if it is just lying around, nobody claiming it,” his Co-Commander grumbled.

“Now Selene,” Hux gave her a feigned disappointed look. ”I am sure you can do better than the excuse of every third rate criminal in the Galaxy.” 

He suddenly became aware that Opan and Shi’seko were just watching their exchange curiously. And he had again slipped up by using her first name. But then Opan would not be worth his credits as an Informations officer, if he did not know by now there was something going on between them. 

Selene shook her head. “Not now. Can we discuss this later?” She got up from her seat, staring out of the viewport impatiently. “Kriff, why is this taking so long?” 

Fortunately, the familiar dagger-shape of the Finalizer came into view then. When they touched down in the hangar, Selene made for the shuttle doors at once, Shi’seko at her heels, obviously anxious for more information from her crew. Hux stood up to follow her, but Opan gave him a meaningful look. “We will have to deal with your lip first, if you don’t want to send the rumor mill running.” 

The blue-eyed captain stepped up to the shuttle’s first aid station and got some bacta, disinfectants and a small mirror out of the cabinet. Passing everything to his General, he raised an eyebrow. “I suppose you won’t tell me, how you invoked her ire that much?” 

Hux looked into the mirror, frowning at the blood still gathering on his lip. She had taken quite the bite out of him. He prodded at the wound, before deciding to put some bacta gel on it. The sting of the disinfectant making him flinch, as he dabbed it on, he ground out. “I might actually have earned that one, to be honest.” 

Real surprise showed on Opan’s face at that admission. “Mmm, I thought you were adamant not to pursue this, Armitage.” 

Hux sighed, rubbing his temple for a moment. He knew from the start that his dalliance with his Co-Commander was inadvisable, but talking about it only made him more aware of the fact. “I was. But she is…” He trailed off, not sure, how he should explain Selene’s ability to make him forget all common sense. 

“Oh, I can imagine.” There was definite amusement in Opan’s cool gaze. 

“Really? I thought your preferences lie elsewhere.” 

The captain chuckled, “That I am not interested, does not mean I am blind,” he turned serious again after a moment. “As your Informations officer I do have to warn you, though. If Pryde gets wind of this, he will have a field day.” He gave Hux a hard look. “And I don’t have to tell you, there is the distinct possibility that she will use this to influence you.” 

“Believe me, I know, Tritt.” Hux picked up the unused medical supplies and put them back into the cabinet. He hesitated for a moment before turning back to the other man, his voice reluctant at his confession. “Does not mean I am able to stop myself from indulging.”  
He could have pretended that he would do the reasonable thing and not touch her again, but if today had shown him one thing, then it was how deep his weakness for her already ran. 

“So, I guess that means all those little rumors about the Zi’daya are actually true,” Opan commented dryly.  
The General did not acknowledge that with an answer, but something must have shown on his face, because Opan chuckled again. 

When they left the Command shuttle, Selene appeared immediately, Shi’seko, her second in command and her wing leader following behind her. At least she seemed a little calmer now, as she addressed him. Probably her crew had told her as well, that just rushing in would have been madness.  
“We tried to contact Venya Station. No answer so far. All connecting systems are down.” She trailed her hand through her hair in worry. “I suppose, we should send in some of your surveillance drones to get an idea, what we are dealing with.” 

Hux fell into step next to her, leading the way to the command bridge. “You want to send them from here?”

“No,” Selene sighed. ”But after what happened to the Victorinox anything else would only be an unpredictable risk.”

So she was able to act reasonable from time to time. When they reached the command bridge, he gave the corresponding orders to Lieutenant Baska, asking Selene to provide the exact coordinates.  
She nervously walked up and down, as they waited for footage. This would take some time, as two TIE-Fighters needed to make the necessary hyperspace jump and drop the drones in the vicinity of the mining station. 

“No unexpected contact,” Baska reported after a few minutes. “Footage should be available in a few minutes.”

Indeed the holoscreen flickered not long after, the image of a barren, rocky planet appearing. The mining station was located directly in front of them, the visible low buildings probably living quarters. Most of the station seemed to be located underground. 

“Any recommendation where to start?” Hux asked Selene. She nodded and pointed at a large building in the middle. “That’s the main building. You can probably get in through the hangar. It is located on the eastern side.” 

Hux gave her a curious look. “You know the station quite well.” 

Selene’s face remained tense, as she stared at the screen. “Yes, I was involved into the construction and planning.” 

So it was really a personal project of hers. He should have known that she would be the one, who had planned something that risky. But then she nearly got away with it, didn’t she? If not for those disappearances and the attack today, no one in the Order would have suspected a thing. 

A loud gasp from Major Shi’seko made him look at the screen again as well. The drones had entered the hangar. And there were three people lying on the floor motionless. 

“Lieutenant Baska, vital signs?” Hux inquired. “Negative, sir. Body temperature is far below average as well.” The Lieutenant’s voice was calm, as he flew the drone closer to the bodies. “No rigor mortis yet, it seems. Time of death cannot be more than a few hours ago then.”

“But why are there still bodies?” Selene’s voice was not more than a whisper, her eyes wide and shocked. 

“They probably had no time to feed yet,” Hux commented quietly, so that only she could hear it. His Co-Commander threw a look at him that told him she did not appreciate the remark. He wondered, if he was correct, though. If it was the case, it meant they were a lot closer to their enemy than ever before. 

As the drone flew deeper into the building, more and more bodies appeared. There were no visible signs of violence on them; they actually looked, as if they had just fallen down, where they stood, their faces strangely empty of any emotion. 

The shock on Selene’s face had turned into anger and determination by now. “We have to go down there,” she said fiercely.

“I agree with you, Commander,” Hux answered. “But only with some security precautions.” He turned towards Lieutenant Tosla. ”Lieutenant, inform Captain Trach that we need one of his squads as aerial support.”

He threw a glance at Major Shi’seko. “I suppose you have flown out here before, Major? It might make sense, if you join him with one squad, then.”  
The blonde pilot nodded. “I will ready them.” She left towards the bridge entrance.

“Captain Fallon, we need one battalion of stormtroopers divided between three shuttles, one of them my command shuttle. And two additional battalions at the ready. And Doctor Kline should sent us one of his medics.” Everyone they had discovered so far had looked beyond any help, but perhaps they would be able to find out, what had caused those deaths. 

His gaze met his Co-Commander’s, as he had expected, she was just opening her mouth to protest. “And before you ask, yes, I will allow you to accompany me.”

“Allow me?” her voice was incredulous.

“Yes, allow you,” he remained calm. “You actually need to have an evaluation that you are battle ready to be allowed on ground missions. And I have seen you shoot a blaster.” 

His last remark made Captain Khi’sheko laugh out loud, obviously aware of his Commander’s shortcomings in that area. 

Selene narrowed her eyes at him. “That was one time in a training situation.”

“Well, we will just have to hope there are no moving targets then.” 

That made even more composed Shi’seko chuckle slightly. “Very funny,“ his Co-Commander grumbled. 

“Be it as it may,” Hux gave Selene a serious look. “This comes with two conditions, though. You will follow my orders without question, when we are down there and if there is any sign of battle you will fall back to the shuttle.”

“What?” her golden eyes flashed angrily at him. ”You can’t be serious.” 

He smiled at her coldly. “Believe me, I am. I want your word on it or you stay up here.”

She pressed her lips together in very clear anger. “Armitage…”

Hux realized it might not be a good idea to have a discussion with her being that incensed in the middle of the bridge with dozens of people in hearing distance. He swiftly took her arm and guided her to the side for a little privacy. 

“I thought this was a joined command,” she snapped at him. “Nice of you to immediately forget that, the moment a dangerous situation arises.” 

He shook his head. “I didn’t forget it. It is just a fact that I have a lot more military experience than you have. And I expect you to be professional enough to acknowledge that.”  
When she looked, as if she would fire up at those words again, he added. “Whereas I can admit that you are by far the better diplomat. It is only prudent that we share our command according to our strengths.” 

Her eyes turned a little less angry. “Oh, are you admitting to a weakness now? Who would have thought I would see that day.” 

Hux stared at her for a moment. “Stars Selene, you of all people should know that I do have my weaknesses.” He gave a self-depreciating laugh. “And it is certainly not a small one.”  
Why did he say that? He could as well give her detailed instructions how to manipulate him best. 

The effect his words had on her were surprisingly obvious, her gaze softening and all fight leaving her at once. “That is not a weakness,” she murmured. 

“Isn’t it? It feels like that, though.” He had to look away from her. “And who tells me you are not using this to influence me? What are we even doing?”

“You have to believe me. I would never use this…” she stopped, obviously unsure herself what to call it. “attraction or whatever between us to manipulate you.”

“Really?” he raised an eyebrow. ”Not even to get out of trouble regarding the mining station?” 

“No,“ her golden eyes were earnest, as she met his. “But we should talk about this in a more private setting.” She looked down on herself. “I will have to go to the Evenfall to change. I guess the preparations will take some time. You could accompany me there.” 

When they returned to Shi’seko and Khi’sheko, she gave him a short nod. “Fine, I promise to follow your orders, General.” Both men gave her a very surprised look at those words, Khi’sheko saying something in Zi’daya to her that made her roll her eyes at him. 

Hux gave a few more orders, before accompanying his Co-Commander to her ship.

He had to admit he was more than a little curious, not having been onboard yet. The bright halls decorated in etchings of tall, elegant trees and wooden accents were a far cry from the utilitarian First Order style. His eyes widened in a little shock, when Selene led him to her quarters, though.

“Has somebody broken in here?” he inquired, as he took in the chaos, clothes and papers strewn everywhere in the rather small room. The only free space was her bed at one side of the room that was covered in dozens of cozy looking blankets in various colors.  
He imagined snuggling under those with her, preferable naked, for a second before catching himself. Kriff, he had to get a grip on these little fantasies. Besides, he did not think he could ignore the disorder in the room for a longer amount of time. 

Selene just looked around and shrugged. “I don’t have time to tidy up.” She started to search for something in a heap of clothes. Hux refrained from telling her that this would surely be easier, if she just hung up her clothes, but it was a near thing. 

His gaze snagged on one of the only pieces that she actually had put on a hanger, a flowing black dress, on which little lights seemed to move constantly. It looked like the night sky woven into cloth. 

“Are you planning to go to a ball?” he asked her.  
She laughed and straightened, after obviously having found, what she had been searching for, her mech armor. “I am the heir to a starsystem, you know. Sometimes some event where I have to look representative comes up suddenly. That’s why I always have a gown with me.” 

Then she started to unbutton her blouse. “Wait, are you undressing?” Hux asked incredulously. She gave him a look. “Please, it is not, as if there is anything, you have not seen by now.”

Her yellow skirt followed her blouse to the floor, leaving her only in her lacy underwear. He had to take a deep breath at the sight, fighting the urge to touch her. Stars, she was beautiful, all feminine curves and soft golden brown skin. Part of him had known so from the second, she sat foot on his ship, but it hit him again in moments like this. 

And he was actually allowed to touch her. At least he hoped that it was still the case, after their confrontation earlier.  
The knowing smile on her face telling him she was quite satisfied with his reaction, seemed to indicate it, thankfully. 

“You know, I have been thinking. We could continue doing this. I mean it is a stressful, dangerous mission. We deserve to relax a little here and there.”

“What?” of all the things he thought she might discuss with him, he would have never come up with this.

“Just sex, when the mood strikes us. No strings attached.” Her gaze was expectant, as she regarded him.

“I don’t know, what is worse,” he murmured. “That you are honestly making that suggestion or that I am seriously contemplating agreeing to it.” 

But then a whisper of doubt made him hesitate. That offer was a little too good to be true. “What is in it for you, though?” 

“In it for me?” she gave him a confused look. “I just said it would be only sex.” 

“Please,” he scoffed. ”I think we both know, that if you are just looking for someone to take the edge off now and then there are a lot easier options.” 

Selene gave him a slightly desperate look. “Most men would just have jumped on that offer. But you have to force me to spell it out, don’t you?”

Actually, he did not really understand what she meant, he honestly wanted to know, why she did not tumble into bed with someone uncomplicated like Trach or a guy from her own crew. 

Selene’s face lost all playfulness then, a vulnerable look on it for a moment. “Perhaps, against all better judgement, I just can’t help myself.” Her golden eyes were very soft and wide. “I guess you are not the only one with a weakness.” 

His heartbeat might have stuttered a little at that admission and something strange fluttered in his stomach. He did not have a lot of experience with this whole sleeping with each other with no strings attached, but he had an inkling that this was actually not the correct way to start this. 

“I could ask you the same, though,” his Co-Commander said. “You already know the answer,” he finally gave in and twisted a fine strand of hair that had come out of her braid around his finger. “I am regrettably unable to deny you anything on that front.” 

While it might be madness to agree to this, Hux could not help the thrill going through him at the thought of having her skin against his regularly. Perhaps he could allow himself this one little indulgence. He was no fool after all. His deeds in the name of the Order had garnered him more enemies, than he could count. Especially after destroying the Hosnian System. And his odds of surviving this war had turned from ‘not promising’ to ‘depressing’ the moment Kylo Ren had become Supreme Leader. 

There was also something else. As petty as it was, a not so small part of him reveled in the feeling that it was him she wanted in her bed and nobody else. Ren, Pryde and his fellow generals could look down on him, as much as they wanted, it did not change the fact that he was sleeping with a woman, they could not even dream of touching. It was the same feeling of vindictive triumph he had felt, when he had become a General of the First Order, after years of ridicule by his fellow cadets at the First Order Academy. The possessiveness towards her those thoughts sparked should have worried him, but he ignored the slight unease. 

“We will have to be more discreet in the future, though,” he cautioned Selene.  
She grinned cheekily, “So no calling you sweet honey pie on the command bridge?” 

Selene watched as bemused exasperation flitted over Hux’ face at her comment. “Could you please take this seriously?” he chastised her. 

“Don’t worry,” she said, a lot more composed than before. “I have as many reasons as you do to keep this under wraps.” There was something that looked surprisingly like hurt in his eyes for a moment. Mmmh, interesting. It seemed her Co-Commander’s pride did not deal well with being her little First Order secret. 

It made her wonder, what exactly Trilla had said to him earlier. While she had originally thought, that he had been angry with her, because he had realized she was hiding something from him, the nearly nonchalant way he had dealt with the information about Venya station seemed to indicate something else. After all, he would probably have been within his rights to deny her any help from First Order side. But it did not seem to have crossed his mind to do so. Not that she did not know there would be some kind of reckoning for the transgression later. 

Selene slipped into her mech armor and put on her boots, watching Hux out of the corner of her eyes. No, the Hutt had found some kind of sore point that prompted him to lash out at her. There was no way that he had any feelings for her, wasn’t there? Something about his tone, as he had admitted to having a weakness for her, had been strangely vulnerable, those green eyes gentle, as he looked at her. It had made all the annoyed anger she had felt towards him cool down a lot quicker than was possibly advisable. How one person could spark so many intense and conflicting emotions in her in a span of a single day remained a mystery. 

Perhaps this arrangement between them was not such a good idea, as she had thought. But then she remembered, how easily he had returned to threatening her earlier. No, Hux would never really care for her in any form. A physical weakness yes, but nothing more. Besides, it was not, as if she was in any danger of developing any real feelings for him. She knew only too well, who he was and what he had done. No, this was only an unexpected attraction born out of some physical compatibility between them. Things like that happened. It would probably become tedious and burn out, before this mission was even over, no harm done. 

Although that did not explain the fluttering sensation she had felt in her stomach, when she saw the pleased look on his face at her admission to having a weakness for him as well.

Selene pushed the thought what that might mean away nearly violently. Her preoccupation with her Co-Commander had allowed her to keep her mind off Venya station for a time. But now she could not keep all her worries from returning in force. She took a deep breath. 

“Do you think…” she hesitated. “Do I think what?” the General inquired, his eyes searching, as he looked at her.  
“Do you think they are all dead?” The Zi’daya heir was not proud of the way her voice gave out a little on the last word, but the fear that everyone at the station had died, had not left her since the moment, they had found the first body. 

Hux’ gaze held something like compassion for a moment. “As much as I would like to tell you something else, I fear we will have to prepare for the possibility, yes.” 

Nausea swapped through her. “Stars, twenty thousand people.” She knew there had been more victims on the Victorinox, but as awful as it sounded this hurt a lot more. Those were her people after all. “This is my fault,” she murmured. “I sent them here.” She had thought the risks were minimal with the additional Huttese protection, but she had been wrong. And now twenty thousand families might wait in vain for their loved ones to return, because she had miscalculated. 

“While I do have to say that it was inadvisable to build an illegal mining station in First Order territory, there was no way you could have known something like this could happen.” 

“But I knew this was dangerous territory. Before Trilla settled here, it was crawling with space pirates and ragtag criminals of all kinds. It was why we had the arrangement with the Hutts.” 

Hux raised an eyebrow. “But the lure of the credits was too great?”  
The lure of what she could do with those credits had been too great. Selene had to look away for a moment. “What are you actually paying that impossible Hutt? Fifty percent?”

“What? Do you think I’m stupid?” She shook her head incredulously. “More like fifteen percent.”

He tilted his head at her. “Then that are a lot of credits, you are making here.”  
Kriff, she thought, he would surely ask her now, what she had been doing with those credits. 

Instead, to her surprise, he stepped closer to her and turned her around to slowly zip up her armor. He halted midway through so, his hands warm on her skin.  
“I know it might be only a small consolidation, but I am sure you made the decision you thought was best for your people at the time. Moreover, deciding something else might have had different consequences. I do understand that you feel responsible for your people’s fate, though.” He closed the rest of the zipper on her back. “It is one of the things one has to deal with as a leader. Our decisions have consequences for other people.”

“Is that what they teach you in the First Order?” Selene could not help asking, when she turned around to see his face. That had been nearly consoling and actually sounded not at all like First Order propaganda. 

Something dark passed through Hux’ eyes. “In the Order they make very sure that you are able to make the necessary decisions without consideration for other people’s fate.” He looked at her. “But I don’t think you want to follow that path.” 

But do you? she nearly asked. She remembered how Tank had told her that Hux actually cared for his troops. She opened her mouth; intend to find out, when there was a short knock on the door. Khendrik only waited a second before opening the door, his eyes widening in surprise, at finding the General in her quarters. He was already in his mech armor as well. 

“I wondered, if you needed help with your armor,” he said in Zi’daya with a distinct note of disapproval in his voice. “But I see your Co-Commander has already taken care of it. Very helpful.” 

Blast it, he would definitely ask her about this later. 

“Preparations are nearly finished,” her sworn protector added in Basic. He gave Selene a questioning look. “Short briefing on the bridge?” 

She nodded and grabbed her blaster, before following him out, motioning at Hux to accompany her.  
As she entered the bridge, she saw that Elodia had manned the communications station, while Fayth and Shima were wearing their armor as well. “I thought I should do mission control,” her aide commented, “I can still remember the construction plans from a few years ago.” 

“Good idea,” Selene agreed. ”You have already sent the plans over?” She touched a hidden point at her armor, making part of the fabric sweep over her head as a helmet and a thin visor appear in front of her face. She watched as the information began to flit over the screen in front of her eyes.  
Hux’ face lit up with a little awe. “You did not show me that last time. This is actually really impressive.”

She laughed. “A girl has to keep some secrets.” And she did not want the Order to know how advanced some of their tech really was. “As I said, your trooper’s armor is woefully outdated.”

Shima stepped up to her. “I thought, we should go down with twenty people. Enough so that two of us can accompany every First Order squad, if we have to split up.” Selene nodded in assent and looked at Hux. “Ready?”

Ten minutes later the Upsilon class command shuttle and the combat ships left the hangar, after the Finalizer had jumped to Venya’s coordinates. Selene nodded at Tank in greeting, the sergeant easily recognizable even under the stormtrooper armor. It seemed his squad would join them again on this mission. In contrast to last time, even she did not feel any motivation to talk today, her thoughts too occupied by what awaited them planetside. 

She tipped her ear, establishing the connection to Elodia. “Any news from the drones?”  
“No”, her aide answered. “Security doors have been closed, so they did not get very far. You will need to open them manually to go further into the station. I sent all of you the current codes.” 

Selene looked at Hux and Shima. “After going in, we should try to make our way to the mines’ command center. It is located in the middle of the building, close to the mining shafts. In an emergency the commander and all high-ranking personnel should have gone there.”

Hux nodded at her. “We will first secure the hangar and then proceed there as quickly as possible.” He was again just wearing his great coat, something that left her with a strange unease. Did the man think he was immortal? But then all the armor in the world would probably not be enough, if their theories about their enemy were correct.

The shuttle began to shake, as they entered the planet’s atmosphere. Venya was actually not a very hospitable place, its climate windy and unwelcoming on the better days. Selene stared at the familiar grey, rocky landscape appearing in the shuttle’s viewport, nervousness settling into her stomach. Please, she thought, let somebody still be alive and safe behind the security doors. 

The command shuttle touched down next to the hangar, the other two shuttles following close behind.  
“Secure the parameter and the hangar,” Hux ordered, as the shuttle doors opened. Selene swiftly stood up and followed him outside. 

The first thing that hit her was the cold wind, biting into her, as if it had claws. She shivered. Had it always been that cold on Venya? She looked around, her breath making little clouds in the frigid air. The pale sun was already setting, casting long shadows on the ground. It was eerily silent, she noticed. Apart from some curt orders and the marching steps of the troopers, she could not hear a single sound. Foreboding swept through her. While most of the life on the mining station did happen underground, there should have been at least a few people milling around. 

The telltale sound of the TIE-Fighters flying a sweep over the station cut through the air, the Tri-Wasps following slower behind.  
“No movements on the ground, the whole station seems empty.” Briseis reported on their comms link. “There is some equipment left behind, as if in the middle of work, though. Whatever happened it must have been awfully quick.”

Shima stopped next to her, his face showing the same worry she felt. “Something is not right,” he murmured. 

When they entered the hangar, after getting the all clear from Tank, her gaze immediately flew to the three bodies, they had already seen on the drones’ footage. It took some willpower, but she refrained from going to them, watching the thin, grey-headed medic Doctor Kline had sent with them do so instead. She should probably let the experts do their work without interfering first. 

Strangely, it felt even colder in the hangar than outside, although they were protected from the wind. While the overhead lights were still working, the shadows between the parked mining machines seemed darker than usual to her nervous eyes. An intense unease made the hair on her nape stand up. An icy draft whispered along the side of her neck. 

As she looked around searching for Hux, she realized he had gone quite far into the building, his coat billowing out behind him, as he walked. And without any of his troopers accompanying him. When he always insisted on following all the security protocols. 

Something was wrong.

“General Hux,” she called out. He gave no indication that he had heard her, his steps not slowing down. “Hux,” she called out a little louder, making a few steps after him.

“I’ve got a pulse, quick bring me…” the medic’s surprised exclamation ended on a choking sound, prompting her to look back over her shoulder in alarm. For a long moment, her brain was unable to understand, what she was seeing. The hands of one of the bodies the medic had examined were closed around his throat, his own trying in vain to loosen the grip. Before anyone could interfere, there was a sickening crack, his head lolling to the side. 

And then all hell broke loose. 

Screams sounded, as blaster bolts sizzled through the air. Selene’s eyes widened in terrified disbelief, as she saw dozens of people dressed in the Zi’daya colors or the miner’s coveralls appear out of the depths of the hangar. Their faces as emotionless as they had been on the drones’ footage, they started firing immediately. She barely avoided a bolt, ducking behind a parked mining car. Kriff, this wasn’t possible. Those people had appeared dead. And why were they attacking them? Panic made her hands tremble, as she pulled out her blaster. She hectically cast her gaze around for the others. 

Shima and Fayth were closer to the entrance, barely holding of a dozen attackers with the stormtroopers, using some mining equipment as coverage.  
“What the kriff are you doing? We are Zi’daya and on your side, blast it,” her second in command called out, trying to get their attackers to see some sense. The only thing it earned him was a blaster bolt nearly singing of his hair, making him dive behind his shelter again.

Whatever happened to the mines’ staff, it was clear there was no reasoning with them and they could expect no mercy from their side.

The rest of the troopers and Khendrik were caught between the entrance and her, some of them already clearly wounded, as the others tried to give them covering fire. It seemed she had been lucky and nobody had seen her vanish behind that mining car. 

“Selene,” Elodia’s voice was worried in her ear. “What in the blazes of the universe is happening down there?” Selene gasped. “I don’t kriffing know. They were dead. And now they are attacking us.” She stared at the people she thought she knew, still not comprehending what was going on. “It is, as if they are possessed.”

The Zi’daya glanced in the direction her Co-Commander had vanished into. Blast it, she had promised to return to the ship in the case of battle.  
But he had clearly not been himself and wherever he was going, he was all alone. And she was the only one at this end of the hangar. 

Before she could even think her decision through, she was moving, her feet carrying her after him towards the entrance that led deeper into the building. 

“Selene, where are you?” Khendrik’s desperate voice reached her over their comms link. ”I am alright,” she answered. “Moving into the direction of the Command Center now. Hux went into that direction and he’s alone.”  
“What?” her sworn protector’s voice was disbelieving. “No, you will come back to the shuttle immediately.”  
“Negative. There are too many hostiles between my current location and the shuttle.”  
“Selene!”  
She ignored him for the moment, silencing the connection with a touch to her ear, passing through the hangar’ doors. 

Cold closed around her, making her fall to her knees. She took a painful breath, the icy air burning in her lungs. Shadows moved in front of her face and suddenly she was not in the mining station any more. 

The sun in her face made her blink, as she stared sullenly at an elegant white shuttle parked in Ellesmee’s east hangar. This was just so typical, she thought, she was never allowed to do anything fun. 

“This is the end of the discussion, Selene.” Her mother’s normally warm golden eyes held a hint of exasperation. “You can’t accompany us to Coruscant. This is a delicate mission. Our days will be filled with negotiations and political maneuverings. We just don’t have time…”

“And I will be just underfoot. You mentioned it.” Selene gave her mother a pleading look. “But I won’t. I promise. You won’t even realize I am there.”

“Now, my little bright star,” her father tugged on her braid lovingly, as he passed her by, his bag in his hand. He had never gotten used to having servants carry his stuff for him. “Don’t fret. We will be back before you know it.” 

“But I want to go to Coruscant, too.” Selene complained. “I want to go to the great library, walk through the markets, see all the things I have only read about.” 

Elaine noe Sao’onserei gave her daughter an apologetic smile. “Next time, I promise. At the moment it is just not a good idea.” The look she threw at her husband was worried. 

“You already said that the last time,” her daughter answered angrily. “Fine, I don’t care. Stay there and don’t come back, if you want to.” 

“Selene!” her father chastised her, but she was already turning away, running through the hangar. 

No, a part of her whispered. Don’t leave like that. Turn around one last time. 

However, she could not change what had happened nor stop her memories from playing out. She watched helplessly through the eyes of her younger self, as she walked through the city, unaware that her world would go up in flames soon. 

She needed to snap out of this, she realized. But the kriffing cold had seeped into every fiber of her being, overtaking everything else. She could not even remember how it felt to be warm again. And there was something else she needed to remember. Something important. 

Warm. A memory tickled at her mind. Strong arms holding her close, as she snuggled comfortably on a warm chest. A hot mouth opening over hers, as she lost herself in a passionate kiss. Green eyes turning soft, as he looked at her. Armitage. She had to go after him. 

With a gasp, she was back to reality, needles of pain stinging into her body, as feeling returned into her frozen limbs. For long moments, she remained on her knees, just breathing in. She finally got up slowly, leaning against the corridor’s wall. Shadows moved erratically on the way ahead. Steeling herself, she stepped deeper into the station. 

If anyone would have asked Tank, how he had survived countless battles in service of the First Order, when others had not, his short answer would have been that he had just been lucky. While that might be true to a point, all those instances of danger over the years had also honed his senses, making him realize, when something was wrong. 

And all those senses were on edge, as they entered the hangar on Venya. He darted his eyes around alertly, trying to keep as much of the building and his squad in his view as possible.  
“ZN-7785, stay close to me,” he ordered Pyp, aware that the young trooper was quite unexperienced for a mission like this. 

Blast it, all that mining equipment made the hangar hard to secure. The shadows could hide anything. “All clear, sir” Happy reported, jogging back to them. “Everyone we found so far shows no vital signs,” his voice turned gloomy. “Let’s hope we don’t join them soon.”

As the Zi’daya and the medic entered the building, Tank could still not shake the feel of unease. Giving Pyp a sign to accompany him, he slowly walked along the parked mining equipment, shining a light in the space in between, his other hand on his blaster.

A shiver going down his spine was the only warning he got, as a sudden scream tore through the hangar, followed by the sounds of blaster fire. Grabbing Pyp’s arm and dragging him down as well, Tank let himself quickly fall to the ground. And not a second too early, as a few blaster bolts hit the small shuttle, they had stood in front of, with a sizzle.  
Tank stared at the smoldering holes they had left with wide eyes. Kriff, what kind of blasters did their attackers use?

“We have to fall back to the hangar entrance,” he told Pyp, as they swiftly scrambled behind the shuttle for protection. “You go first, while I give you cover.” The young trooper gave him a shaky nod, before turning towards the entrance. Tank went into a firing position and sent out a few bolts in order to secure his departure. With a start, he realized their attackers were wearing the Zi’daya colors. But hadn’t Happy reported there had been no vital signs? What was going on here?

He managed to eliminate two of them with well-placed shots, wounding a third on the leg. To his surprise, he got up again immediately, as if he had not even felt it, dragging his bleeding leg behind. It was, as if they were immune towards pain. 

Glancing in the direction of the entrance, he realized the stormtroopers and the Zi’daya had used some of the mining equipment to erect an impromptu barricade to take cover behind. To his relief Pyp was ducking behind it, as he watched. 

Tank was just preparing his own run to the barricade, when a wounded stormtrooper crashed down only a few feet in front of him. One of his hands reached out to him pleadingly. “Sergeant,” he croaked out. 

“Clics,” Tank was on his side in seconds, searching for a wound. He had to take a deep breath, as he saw the gaping hole in his armor at stomach level. Blood was seeping out of it violently. Kriff, he had to do something to staunch the flow. He quickly pulled off the other man‘s helmet, hoping it would help him breath. Clic’s dark eyes were full of pain and fear, sweat glistening on his forehead, as he seized Tank’s hand forcefully.

A small noise made Tank look up. Directly into the barrel of a blaster aimed at him. The world seemed to slow down, all noises strangely subdued, his attacker’s blank stare the only thing he could see. “Didn’t expect it to end like this,” he thought absentmindedly. 

A blaster bolt sizzled through the air suddenly, hitting the miner in the middle of his head, taking half of it with it, blood spattering Tank’s helmet. He flinched, as someone fell to his knees next to him. 

“Blast it, Tank!” Fayth grabbed his arm. “We have to get out of here.”  
He shook himself, returning to reality with a start. That had been damn close.  
“Clics is wounded,” he explained to the Zi’daya lieutenant. “We have to get him back to the ship.” 

Fayth’ eyes glanced down at the trooper for a second, before returning to him. There was clear compassion in them. “Tank…I’m sorry. It’s too late.”  
“What?” When the sergeant looked at Clics himself, he realized that his hand had fallen out of his some time ago. His dark eyes had turned blank and unseeing. “No.”

He knew what First Order regulations stipulated in that case. Anyone dead or beyond help would be left behind. But those miners had appeared dead as well. What if he left Clics here and he came back under some sort of possession? Someone or something just using him? He deserved better than this.

“I know it’s against regulations, but I can’t just leave him here,” he murmured. Fayth’ gaze met his, determination in his brown eyes. “You won’t have to. You carry him, I will give you coverage.” He raised his blaster. “And now go.”

Not hesitating a second, he hefted Clics up over his shoulder, making his way to the barricade as quickly as possible. Captain Khi’sheko cursed, when he saw him. “Blast it, there are just too many. We have to fall back to the shuttles.” He fired a few shots over the barricade, securing Fayth’ return as well. 

“Retreat to the shuttle,” he called out. The next minutes were hectic chaos, as they made their way back outside, only to be greeted by another wave of attackers that appeared from behind one of the buildings. 

“Kriff, where is our aerial support?” Fayth asked the Zi’daya captain. A loud explosion coming from one of the defense torrents seemed to answer that question. “Held up, I would wager,” Khi’sheko ground out. And indeed two TIEs whizzed over them a second later, locked up in battle with double the number of Tri-Wasps. 

Reaching the ramp of the command shuttle Tank tried to make out all his troopers. Meg, Lyra, Happy, Pyp…they all seemed unharmed thankfully. He carefully laid Clics’ body down on the floor inside the shuttle. Khi’sheko turned to their pilot. “Get us out of here, now.” 

“What?” Shi’seko had just entered the shuttle, his voice incredulous. “Selene is still in there. You can’t mean to leave without her.”  
“You heard her, she is going after Hux in the direction of the command center.” Khi’sheko shook his head. ”There are just too many enemies between her and us. We will never make it. We will have to get serious reinforcements or pick her up at another location.”

Looking around Tank realized that the General and his Co-Commander were indeed missing. “That is madness.” Before Shi’seko could continue, one of the Zi’daya guarding the door was hit by a blaster bolt to the throat, going down, his blood pooling bright red on the floor. 

“We are going to get us all killed.” Khi’sheko snapped. “Selene knows those mines. If anyone can get out of there, it’s her.”  
Shi’seko’s eyes were desperate, as he watched another volley of blaster bolts hit the shuttle. “Blast it all!” he cursed and hit the wall angrily with his hand. He gave a nod to their pilot. “You heard what he said, start the shuttle.” 

As the shuttle began to shake, Tank sat on the floor with desperation in his heart. His gaze met Fayth’s, his desolate feelings mirrored back at him. 

The thing about real coldness, Hux thought, was that it only hurt at the beginning. After a time the pain vanished, leaving only numbness behind. And he drifted in that numbness, a very small part of him aware that something was wrong, that there was something he needed to remember, but unable to do anything about it. 

When the shadows around him lessened, he found himself in a familiar room. His father’s office on the Absolution showed signs of a man who did enjoy the finer things in life, a well-stocked bar, expensive dark wooden furniture imported from the Core Worlds and an open cigar case on his desk. The same could be said about Brendol Hux’ face, the fine red lines on his nose and cheeks speaking of a few too many nights of indulging. The muscles of his massive body had turned more than a little soft, the once bright red hair sparse. The years had not been kind to him. 

His flat brown eyes were narrowed at his son in distinct disapproval.  
“I hear you are still stationed on the Victorinox, Lieutenant. Whatever you think you can achieve under that stuck-up bitch Orea.” 

There was, Hux thought, perhaps no higher compliment towards his Commander than having earned his father’s disapproval. But then Brendol Hux had never liked self-assured, independent women.  
“I have found her to be an inspiring commanding officer, so far,” he only commented calmly, adding, ‘More than you could ever be’, in his head.

Brendol Hux scoffed. “Well, we all know, what your opinion is worth. It is a pity that I have taken over the position at the Academy only two years ago. Who knows, I might have been able to make a decent officer out of you yet. Were it not for Sloane…” His angry glare turned inwards, obviously caught up in a memory.

Deliberately not glancing at the third person in the room, Hux felt the familiar burn of shame and anger at his father’s disparaging words, heat rising on his cheeks. Tritt Opan had been one year below him at the Academy and he could not help but wonder, how the cool and collected young man had become Brendol Hux’ newest aide. 

The anger at his father’s treatment of him in front of another person, loosening his tongue against his better judgement, Hux smiled coldly. “As you were able with those Resistance spies, who infiltrated the Academy and nearly blew it up?” 

The older Hux’ fist colliding with his face did not come as a big surprise. His father was nothing if not predictable.  
“Opan, leave.” His voice was furious, as he ordered his aide out of the room, before focusing on his son again. “You pathetic, little rat.” 

When he left the office some time later, Opan, who was sitting at a desk in the anteroom, gave him an assessing glance.  
“You should go to the Medbay and have that treated.” 

Hux touched his fingers to his still slightly, bleeding lip. To his relief his father had restricted himself to just tearing into him verbally after that first blow. And he had learned to ignore his words long ago. As far as his visits to his father went, this had been one of the better ones.  
Fortunately, he had been able to keep these visits to an absolute minimum in the last few years. 

“It is nothing. It will stop bleeding in a few minutes.” 

Tilting his head for a moment, while scrutinizing him, Opan got up with an unreadable expression on his face. He went to one of the cabinets at the side, pulling out a few bacta batches and passing them to Hux, who nodded in thanks. 

Watching him put on the bacta with a pensive look on his face, Opan commented dryly. “One should think, you would have learned to keep your thoughts to yourself by now.” 

Hux gave a sarcastic laugh. “And deprieve my father of a cherished tradition?”  
The other man could not meet his eyes for a moment. 

“And Lieutenant, is your posting all you have been whishing for?” Hux could not help asking, as he stopped at the door, before leaving the room. 

Opan’s blue eyes held more than a little darkness. “You know what they say, careful what you wish for, you might get it.”

The shadows closed around him again, swirling and dragging him under. 

The next thing he felt was such an excruciating pain on his back, that he was barely able to breath. The only thing keeping him standing was the way his arms were attached to the tent pole high over his head, his feet barely touching the ground. 

No, part of him whispered, please not that memory.

“You know, I am not even really surprised boy,” his father’s cold voice sounding out behind him, made him tense up in terror. There was enough anger crackling under the coldness that he knew this was bad. “Being a conniving little coward is in your nature. Probably your mother’s bad blood. I thought I could train it out of you, but it seems I’ve been wrong.” 

Brendol Hux stepped closer to him, his voice a whisper in his ear. “I will give you one last chance, though. Count the hits to ten just one time without fail and you are allowed to return to the training program.”

The first blow of the belt on his backside made Hux cry out in agony again, but then he did try to count, oh how he tried. But his voice was giving out and his mind could not concentrate on the numbers. Then the pain became too much and he was going under again. 

When he became aware of his surroundings again it was to a dark room, a whimper escaping him, as he lay in a soft bed. Something loud had woken him up. A warm hand touched his forehead. “Shhh Armitage, we don’t want your father to hear.” His mother’s shodow moved quickly, helping him out of his bed and putting a warm cloak around him. 

“There is nothing to worry about, my darling. We will just visit your grandmother a little earlier than planned.” The light tone of her voice was feigned, even Hux, as young as he was, could hear the fear in it. As she put on his shoes, a sudden blinding light shone through the window. A loud explosion rattled the building. “Quick now.” His mother grabbed a few bundles that had been lying on the floor. Before she could open the door to the room though, it was thrown open violently. 

“What do you think you are doing?”  
Brendol Hux stepped into the room, his voice a deep, angry growl, as he took in their packed belongings. “You little traitorous whore, did you really think you could run away?” His hand closed around Hux’ arm painfully. “The boy is mine.”

“No,” his mother’s face was terrified, but determined, as she stepped between Hux and his father, trying to loosen his grip. “I won’t let you take Armitage with you.” Her voice turned pleading. “The Empire has fallen, Brendol, this is madness.” 

“How dare you!”His father’s shadow seemed to grow and grow until it filled the whole room, one of his hands rising up in threat. The darkness flowed around him, drowning him with its oily touch. He could not breathe. 

Warmth touched his lips, a soft breath whispering against them. The sensation tingled from there through his whole body, making him painfully aware of it again. As he opened his eyes, it was to Selene’s golden gaze directly in front of him. The fear in them was quickly replaced by relief. “Stars, for a moment I thought I lost you,” she whispered.

He realized the warm feeling had been her kissing him, one of her hands on his nape having dragged his face down to hers.  
“What?” he asked, but she swiftly put a finger to his lips. “Shh, we have to be quiet,” she hissed, her gaze darting around. When he looked behind her, he realized why. 

They were in a big, cavernous room, obviously built around a mining shaft at the far end of the space leading down into the mines. The shaft was shrouded in dark shadows, ominously lightening up with an intense blue light every few seconds. What made a disbelieving sense of terror whisper through him, was the rows and rows of people wandering through the room and vanishing inside there with shuffling steps, the expression on their faces blank. 

So far, none of them seemed to have realized that they did not belong with them, as Selene had pulled him to the side behind some crates, but it was only a matter of time, until that changed.  
Hux postponed all questions about what happened and how they had gotten here to later and grabbed his Co-Commander’s hand. “We have to get out of here,” he murmured. She nodded at him in assent, worry in her wide eyes. 

They swiftly moved along the room’s walls in the direction of the entrance, keeping to the shadows as much as possible. Finally outside, he gave Selene a questioning look, prompting her to lead him down one of the corridors. The farther away they got from the mining shafts, the warmer it got, he noted. Not that the air was not still icy, their breaths visible, but it wasn’t the kind of cold that felt, as if it burned your skin, any more. 

After making sure they were alone, he turned to the Zi’daya. “What happened?” he asked.  
“You tell me, “ she answered with an incredulous look on her face. “You just started walking out of the hangar with no care for what was around you. I called your name, but you did not even react.” 

“What?” Horror rose up in him. “The last thing I remember is leaving the shuttle and stepping inside the building.” Selene’s face was troubled. “Well, you walked through the whole building and a few security doors, you should not even have the codes for. And it did not even seem to faze you, that we were attacked. When I caught up to you, your face was completely blank. It took me some time to get through to you.” 

“And your first idea was to kiss me?” he raised an eyebrow at her in amusement. She narrowed her eyes at him. “Believe me, I tried a few other things before. The last alternative would have been a slap. Would you have preferred that?”  
“Hardly,” he said dryly. Then something else she had said, caught his attention. “We were attacked? By whom?” 

“The mines’ staff.” Selene’s eyes held a lot of disbelief. “All the dead people we saw in the drone’s footage? Well, guess what, they have risen from the dead to attack us.”

Hux shook his head. “The dead don’t rise.” He gave her a pensive look. “I suspect they were not as dead, as we thought. The drones are not foolproof at detecting those things. If their heart rate and body temperature was low enough, it would not have registered.”

“Mmmh, “she acknowledged.” You might be right. You were pretty icy yourself, when I touched you. Still, I could not check. Unfortunately, they are not all as peaceful as the ones you have seen so far.” 

“Where are the others?” he inquired. Surely, Shi’seko had not let her run after him alone?  
Selene looked away from him for a moment. “We were separated during the attack. As far as I know, they had to return to the shuttles.” 

Her words reminded him of something. “And why did you not return to the shuttle?” He gave her a censoring glare. “Stars, Selene, you had one order. Blast it, you kriffing promised it.” 

“It seems, I am just bantha crap at following orders then,” her eyes were fierce, when they met his again. “And by the way, what would have happened, if I had? As I said, you were all alone and clearly not in your right mind. You would probably be clambering down that mine shaft by now getting your life force sucked out of you, if I had not stopped you.“ Her tone turned sarcastic. “So thanks Selene that you went after me and saved my ungrateful ass.”

For long seconds Hux could only stare at her, as her words really registered. She went after him. Against orders and despite knowing that it would be dangerous. His mouth opened, but he did not know what to say. Part of him was horrified at her recklessness and the other part…  
Well, he did not want to analyze the feelings her putting herself at risk for him invoked in him all that thoroughly. 

“I,“ his voice sounded terribly unsure. She decided to take mercy on him. “Don’t mention it.” She gave him a cheeky smile. “I am sure you would have done the same for me. If only to lord it over me later.” She started to walk down the corridor and he followed her, his gaze still trained on her. The surprising truth was, she was right. He would have gone after her as well. And what in the blazes of the universe did that mean?

“You really think they are getting their life force sucked out of them down there?” the General asked Selene after a short silence, eager to talk about something else.  
“It is probable, isn’t it?” she answered. “There was that blue light again. And it was icy cold,” she shivered. “Besides, I saw a lot of people go down there and nobody came up again. I thought about having a look myself, but…”  
He frowned at her. “That would have been suicide.”  
“I figured the same,” her eyes were somber. “Still, we have to stop them somehow.”  
“Sure,“ he said. “Preferably by firing the Finalizer’s ion cannons on the place until nothing is left.”  
Selene rolled her eyes. “There might be still people inside we can save. I was able to get you out of whatever this strange possession is.”  
Hux was quite sure that had been a special case due to the connection between them, but he did not comment, reluctant to bring the topic up again. 

“Where are we going?“ he asked. “Command center,” Selene touched one finger to her ear. “Elodia?” Her face turned worried, as she listened to something her aide told her. “Kriff no, tell them to stay, where they are. There is no way Hux and I can return to the hangar, there are dozens of enemies between us and there,“ she nodded. “Yes, he is with me and unharmed. Listen, we will have a look at the command center and then use the back entrance on the west side. They can pick us up there.” 

She had just ended the connection, when a terrible howl sounded out of the direction they were going into, making Hux freeze in primal terror. “What was that?” He drew his blaster. 

“Kriff,“ Selene ground out. “Change in plan,” she grabbed his arm and pulled him back the way they were coming from, starting to run. “Corellian hounds. Someone has realized there are intruders.” 

“You have hounds on your property?” he asked, incredulous. She gave him a wide-eyed look. “We had some problems with thieves a few month back. Trilla lent them to us.” 

“Oh, you got to be kidding me,” he cursed, as they raced through the corridor, a few more howls joining the first. When they reached the entrance to the big mining room again, he hectically looked at her. “We can’t go down there.” 

“I am not planning to,” she called out, opening a small door next to it. As they stepped inside, Hux threw a quick glance over his shoulder. Two of their pursuers were already rounding the corner, their powerfully muscled bodies propelling them forwards quickly and their gaping maws showing a row of razor sharp teeth. They would probably be able to shoot two or three each before they reached them, but if there were more…

Selene threw the door close behind them. “Will that stop them?”  
“I fear, whoever let them out, will also open this door,” she answered. ”There is a parallel shaft into the mine for maintenance. We can hopefully loose them that way.”  
Indeed, a few steps led down to a similar, if much smaller room, as the one with the mining shafts. A small mining car was standing on some tracks leading into a tunnel.  
“You want to drive that thing down into the mine?”  
“You have any better ideas? There is another emergency exit leading out to one of the outer buildings from there,” his Co-Commander shrugged and hopped onto the car, bending down to the controls. “Blast it,” she cursed. “I will have to hotwire it.”

“Have you even driven something like that before?“ he inquired nervously. He aimed his blaster at the door, the howls and scratches from outside more than a little concerning. “Sure,” she murmured, as she tore of the metal casing under the steering wheel and grabbed a few wires, searching for the right ones. 

As Selene had predicted, the door was thrown open suddenly, the hounds snapping at it each other in their haste to get inside. Hux used the confusion to fire at the first two, their pained yelps resonating in the room. Fortunately, their bodies blocked the way for the rest for a moment. “Selene,“ he called over his shoulder. “Hurry up!”  
“I nearly got it.” 

Hux had to duck, as a blaster bolt sizzled through the air. It seemed they had some human pursuers now as well. “I’ve got it.” Selene said triumphantly. “Hop on.”  
He quickly did so and the car began to move forward. And not a second to early, as at that moment the rest of the hounds had finally clambered over their dead pack mates and tore down the steps in their direction. Hux tried to shoot the first one, but the swerving movement of the mining car made his shot go wide.  
“I thought you drove that thing before,” he yelled at Selene. “Only as a passenger,” she called back.  
“What?” 

She quickly accelerated, but one hound was actually swift enough to follow them, his powerful hind legs catapulting it up on the mining car, where it hang half on, half off snarling, starting to slow them down again. Hux wildly kicked at it until it let go, only barely able to avoid a bite.

Without the additional weight, their mining car raced down the tunnel at breathtaking speed, the rocky walls swishing past them. “Won’t they follow us?” he asked Selene. “For sure,” her eyes were focused on the track in front of them. “But there is a small side door around two thirds down the way. Nobody knows about that one. We can lose them there hopefully, if we let the car drive on without us.” 

He nodded. “And how do we get off the car?” Selene gave him a wild smile. “Take a guess.”  
“Wait, you can’t mean…”

She put one of the pulled wires around the car’s steering wheel, fixing it in place. “Only a few hundred meters now.”  
“Selene… “ Hux complained. She took his hand. “Don’t worry, nothing will go wrong.” She grinned at him. “You trust me, don’t you?”  
Selene’s golden eyes flashed excitedly and she pulled him closer for a moment, her lips pressing against his. “For good luck,” she murmured with a wink. And then she dragged him with her over the side of the car. 

They landed hard, rolling over and over again. Somehow he had managed to put his arms around her, cushioning her fall. When they finally came to rest, he was more than a little surprised that apart from a few scratches he felt quite unharmed. For a moment, he just lay there on the hard floor trying to catch his breath. Then he glanced at his Co-Commander. To his immense chagrin she was actually laughing, her flushed cheeks visible even in the dim light of the tunnel. 

“I’m so glad that you are having fun, while getting us both nearly killed,” Hux snapped at her. She stopped laughing, although there was still amusement on her face. Standing up, she reached her hand down to help him up as well.  
“Come on old man, we have to get away from here,” she commented, when he winced with a touch to his bruised backside.  
“I am not that much older than you are,” he grumbled, as he followed her a short way down the tunnel. “Even, if your irresponsible behavior seems to indicate otherwise.” 

It appeared her plans had been correct, since they found a nondescript door in the tunnel’s wall quite easily. Selene quickly put in a sequence of numbers into the doorpanel and then they stepped into a brightly lit stairway. Blinking in the sudden light, she turned to him, after closing the door.  
“Something around a decade, isn’t it?” Her lip twitched. “Some people may accuse you of cradle robbing.”  
“Nine years,” Hux corrected her, feeling oddly defensive. Did she actually think him too old for her? But she only chuckled, the delighted expression on her face telling him she enjoyed teasing him. “Don’t worry,” she quipped. “You’re quite hot for your advanced age, so it is alright.” 

Shaking his head at her antics, he followed her down the staircase. “Actually,” Selene said. “this might have been a fortunate turn of events. Since we could not reach the command center, we could try getting the surveillance footage of the station out of the backup server. The entrance is located near here.” 

With both their blasters drawn, they slowly made their way down a few long corridors, until they reached another door. Selene activated her comms again with a touch to her ear. “Elodia?” Disappointment flashed over her face. “Blast it. Only static. We are probably too far down for a stable connection.” Meaning that nobody up there would know, where they had gone. This wasn’t good. 

“This should be the right code, though.” Indeed the door opened after she had typed in a few numbers. “Now let’s just grab…” His Co-Commander’s face showed shocked surprise, as they entered the small room. While it was still visible that this had been a data center once, the whole room was chaos now. Parts of the consoles and screens littering the floor everywhere, it looked, as if someone had taken a crossbar to the furnishings. Someone really angry. 

“That isn’t possible…” Selene murmured. “Who knew that you had a backup server?” Hux asked. Her expression turned troubled. “Only me, my brother, Commander Pa’lenna and the technician, who came here for maintenance every few months.” She shook her head. “Pa’lenna would never share that information.”  
“Perhaps not willingly,” Hux mused, prompting her to throw a worried glance at him.  
“Hold that for a moment,” she asked him and gave him her blaster. Then she crawled under one of the tables and started to tear open the side of one of the consoles. “Might not be ideal, but Tay is probably able to salvage something from this,“ she murmured, as she swiftly plucked out the harddrive. He helped her up again and took it from her, pocketing it in his coat.

“We have to get out of here,” the General said, as they left the room. It might be his imagination but it actually felt, as if it was getting colder again.  
Selene nodded. “There is an elevator going up not far from here.” When they reached the elevator though, its doors were firmly closed, the lights out. 

“Blast it,” his Co-Commander grumbled. “The emergency protocols shut down all the elevators. We will have to restart it manually.” She glanced along the corridor. “However, one of us has to remain here to block the door. Or it might go up without us.” 

Hux could not help frowning at those words. He did not really like the idea of splitting up on that point. “I should probably go ahead to the utility room, I know where it is and what to do, while you wait here,” Selene said. As she started to move away, he stopped her with a touch to her arm. “Don’t take any risks, though. If you see anything strange, call out for me and come back here.” She smiled slightly, before leaving. “Don’t worry, Armitage. We are as good as outside.” 

Despite her reassurance, the next minutes seemed to drag on uncomfortably. Finally, the elevator came to life again with a slight rumble, its doors opening and Hux quickly blocked it, as Selene had told him to. Before he could feel any relief though, a muffled scream sounded from the direction his Co-Commander had vanished into. His heart hammering in sudden fear, he ran after her. 

“Selene!” Elodia felt panic well up in her, when her friend did not answer. Blast it, this was bad. She threw a look at her console. They had lost two TIE’s and a Tri-wasp, when the defense torrents had become active again suddenly and the stations’ own aerial squad had joined the fight. Fortunately, Masir and Briseis had been able to destroy most of the defense torrents quite quickly after the first shock. 

Her comms blinked with an incoming message. She looked down. Dopheld. “You need to come to the Command Bridge immediately. Peavey is going crazy. He wants to burn down the whole planet.” 

“What?” Elodia quickly jumped up, her steps urgent, as she tore out of the Evenfall in the direction of the Finalizer’s command bridge. 

As she entered the bridge, she immediately saw the rotund Captain facing off against the Lieutenant, Dopheld’s expression unfamiliar fierce.  
“As I said Captain, General Hux’ orders were quite clear. The Finalizer is to stay in orbit, while…” 

“General Hux is most likely dead.” Captain Peavey did not even try to hide the glee in his dark eyes at the thought. “And you, Lieutenant, are forgetting that you are nothing but his aide. Without him, I, as his second in command are giving the orders.” 

“I think you are forgetting something Captain Peavey,” her voice cold, Elodia stepped up to the two men, Dopheld throwing a relieved glance at her out of his big brown eyes. “That is a Zi’daya mining station you plan to burn down and the Zi’daya heir down there. You really think High Command would be thrilled to hear that you bombarded your own allies?” 

“Miss Brentiss,” Peavey’s tone was derisive, as he turned towards her. “I fear High Command will be more interested, why there is even a Zi’daya mining station in First Order territory. And by the way, as a civilian you do not even belong on this bridge.” 

“Miss Brentiss is Commander Sa’onserei’s aide. In her absence she speaks for her.” Dopheld interjected angrily, his eyes flashing.

Peavey laughed condescendingly. “Oh, but of course. Coming to her rescue immediately.” His tone turned menacing. ”Careful, Mitaka. Only because Hux let you all break the regulations left and right, does not mean that will continue. Do you want an investigation because of fraternization in your file? You can say goodbye to any dream of ever being promoted then.”

Dopheld’s eyes widened a little at that threat and he swallowed. Elodia’s anger at the Captain flamed up violently. But it was clear that the two of them would not be able to stop Peavey on their own. 

“Lieutenant Tosla,” she addressed the Lieutenant of Communications. “Perhaps we should ask the Allegiant General directly. Can you please contact him for us?” 

She was bluffing here, hoping that Peavey would not risk angering the Allegiant General. Unfortunately, she was not quite sure, if Pryde would not think it a good deal to get rid of Hux, even it meant loosing Selene in the process. Especially, if he could not be blamed for it. 

“Of course, Miss Brentiss.” Tosla said, starting to type on his console. Peavey whirled around, obviously unhappy with this turn of events. He had probably planned to inform Pryde about what happened after the fact. 

He narrowed his eyes at Tosla. “Ah well, you are even worse than Mitaka, aren’t you Tosla? Have been talking with daddy dearest in the last weeks?” The Captain laughed mockingly. “I am sure Admiral Tosla will be thrilled to hear that his only son is rolling around in bed with Outer Rim trash these days.” 

The way Tosla’s grey eyes turned furious and he balled his fists made Elodia fear he might attack Peavey for a second. Before anything could happen though a cool voice interrupted them from the entrance.  
“Now Captain Peavey, we don’t want to do anything hasty, do we?” Captain Opan looked as composed as ever, as he joined them in the middle of the bridge.  
“You know as well as I do, that First Order regulations state that there has to be at least one hour without contact before a commanding officer can be declared missing in action.” 

Opan turned to Elodia. “When was your last contact, Miss Brentiss?”  
“Just a few minutes ago, “ she lied smoothly. “Before I came here.” 

“Well, then.” Opan’s smile at Peavey was provokingly innocent.  
“Fine,” Peavey hissed at them, disappointment on his face. “You have one hour. But believe me, if they have not reappeared by then, I will burn this station down.” 

Elodia watched him leave the bridge with trepidation in her heart. She touched a finger to her ear and closed her eyes. “Selene, where are you?” 

Quickly tearing open the fuse box in the small utility room she had found at the end of the corridor, Selene searched for the correct switch to activate the elevator. She sighed in relief, when she found it. While she had been trying to stay optimistic in front of her Co-Commander, there had been a distinct feeling of terror inside her since the moment she had stepped into the mining room earlier. Those minutes until she had been able get Hux out of that strange possession he had been under, had probably been the longest in her entire life. 

A small noise made her turn around with a start. There was a figure standing in the doorway to the room. Stepping inside, the familiar, dusky features of Commander Darrow Pa’lenna were revealed.  
“Darrow?” Selene asked cautiously, unease pooling in her stomach.  
“Selene,” he answered softly. For a moment, the Zi’daya felt relief at him obviously knowing, who she was. But then her eyes met his. Instead of their normal bright blue, they were swirling with a darkness so intense that she felt, as if she could drown in it.

Her hand strayed to her blaster. He had anticipated that move it seemed, because he moved swiftly then, grabbing her arms. She fought against his grip violently, kicking at his legs, when she could not get free. He hissed, his face strangely emotionless despite their fight and threw her to the floor, drawing a scream from her. Before she could react, he was on top of her, his hands around her throat. 

Clawing at his hands in panic, she managed to croak out. “Darrow, please, you have to stop…”  
Those dark eyes looked down at her without any compassion in them.

”He wants you Selene. Rhea’s heir. We have to bring you to him. The dark one is waiting. And he is always hungry.” What? Her mind trying to understand his words, she fought for every breath, the room already dimming before her eyes. 

Suddenly her attacker was pulled off her, blood spraying from a knife wound in his shoulder. Gasping for air, Selene could only watch in disbelief, as Pa’lenna threw himself at Hux, not slowed down in the slightest by his injury. As the two man grabbled on the floor, she got up and drew her blaster. Kriff, how could she fire without the risk of hitting her Co-Commander? 

Then Pa’lenna got the upper hand and held Hux down, his ability to not react to any pain having given him an advantage in the fight, allowing her to shoot. Her blaster bolt hit him directly in the head, throwing him off her Co-Commander. 

Hux quickly got up, turning to her with worry on his face. For long seconds they just stared at each other. “Are you alright?” Hux ground out after a while. “Yes,” she croaked, her voice still raspy. “And you?” He nodded. Selene stepped over to the dead Commander Pa’lenna, nausea in her stomach at the view. “I just was not able to get through to him. He knew me, but still he did not stop.” 

“Perhaps the difference was that you didn’t try a kiss,” Hux commented dryly. “That’s supposed to break the curse, isn’t it?”

“You mean, like in a fairy tale?” Selene murmured, slowly looking over at him. While he was still breathing hard and a few drops of blood had splattered the right side of his face, he thankfully seemed unharmed. She absentmindedly touched her pained throat. He had not arrived a second too early.

Then she remembered that in the fairy tales it was actually supposed to be true love’s kiss that broke the curse. The thought obviously passed through her Co-Commander’s head at the same time, because his eyes widened and he blushed slightly. He cleared his throat and avoided her gaze, bending over Pa’lenna to pull his knife from his shoulder. “However, there was nothing you could do. He would have killed us, if we didn’t stop him.” 

She nodded absentmindedly. “I think whatever happened to you might have been a different case after all. Your eyes never turned that strange dark color. They were still all green, when I found you. Only completely blank.” 

A thought crossed her mind. “You know, I actually went under for a while, when I left the hangar as well. It was, as if the shadows closed around me, drawing me back in time.”

“Back in time?” 

“Yes, a memory. And while part of me knew it was just that, it felt…” 

“As if you were living through it again,” Hux’ face was hard, as he finished her sentence. She stared at him in surprise. “You felt the same?” 

He nodded, his eyes narrowed. “What kind of memory was it?”  
Selene swallowed at the question, hesitating for a second. “Not a happy one. The day my parents died.”  
“Blast it,” her Co-Commander’s voice held a lot of anger. ”Those kriffing force users. Someone is clearly playing with us.”

“You think it was the force?” she asked him. “I can’t think of any other explanation. Those memories felt completely real.” The obvious discomfort on his face, made her step closer to him, her tone compassionate. “What kind of memory was it?”

“As you said. Not happy ones.” Hux swallowed. “Mostly of my father.” His green eyes turned unfocused. “The pain was as bad, as I remembered. Or perhaps worse, because this time I knew nobody would come to help me.” 

Selene’s heart clenched at his words. She began to suspect, that whatever she had thought she knew about Brendol Hux, it was only a small glimpse into an abyss. “What happened?” she asked softly. 

“It was the day he pulled me from the stormtrooper programme. As you can imagine, he was more than a little incensed. I was a constant disappointment for him.” Hux gave a dry little laugh, that held a desperate edge. “And he was quite fond of corporal punishment for every transgression. I really thought he would take it too far that time, though.” That time? The things that went unsaid caused an even deeper horror in Selene. 

She went to him then, perhaps against all her better judgement. As she put her arms around him, his body was tense against hers for a moment, but then he put one of his hands at her nape, burying his face against her hair, breathing in deeply. She tightened her embrace, time slowing down.  
“He is dead,” she murmured against his neck after a while. He sighed into her hair. “I know.” 

His lips slowly trailed along her temple. “You know,” Hux said softly. “he would have despised you.” “What?” she tried to look at him, but he kept her firmly in place, his breath whispering along her jaw now. 

“Oh yes,” he answered. “All beautiful,” his lips touched hers softly, sending a spark through her whole body. “wild,” his next kiss was more insistent, making her gasp softly. “and deviant.” His mouth opened over hers then, making her drown in heat again. For some time, she just gave in, letting her tongue move against his languidly.  
She ended their kiss with a soft peck to his lips and raised her eyebrow. “Shouldn’t we continue this somewhere a little safer?” 

Hux’ face turned a little sheepish. “You are right.” They swiftly left the room, Selene throwing one last regretful glance at Commander Pa’lenna. 

When they rounded the corner to the elevator, unfortunately, they were already expected by two miners. Hux quickly eliminated them with two well-aimed shots out of his blaster, but the noise seemed to draw even more enemies, as they could hear shouts coming nearer. 

“We have to hurry,“ Selene called out, stepping into the elevator. Putting in the correct floor number, while Hux fired a few last blaster bolts through the closing doors at their pursuers, she prayed that they would finally make it outside. 

As they were watching the numbers fly past in the elevator’s display, Selene’s comms started to crackle. “Selene?” Elodia’s voice was full of panic. “Where are you? “

“We are alright,” she answered. “On our way up again. We will get out at the western buildings. The shuttle should pick is up there.” 

“Oh, thank the stars.” Elodia sounded very relieved. “We were starting to fear the worst. Peavey wanted to bombard the whole planet, saying you two were likely already dead after all. It was not easy to stop him.” 

“What?” Selene quickly told Hux what her aide had said. His eyes immediately darkened in anger. “Tell that incompetent imbecile I will throw him out of the nearest airlock, if he tries anything like that.” 

“Did you get that?” Selene asked her friend. “Oh, yes.” Elodia’s voice held definite glee. “I will gladly pass on the sentiment.” 

The elevator stopped with a rumble, the doors opening to an empty looking storage hall. Hux put a cautioning hand on her arm, when she wanted to step outside. “We should be careful until we see the shuttle.” 

They moved along the room’s wall as quietly as possible, listening for any suspicious noise.  
Selene threw a look through one of the hall‘s windows, when she heard the telltale sound of their shuttle. “They are here. We need to get outside.”  
Before they could do so, one of the doors on the other end of the hall, was pushed open. It seemed their pursuers had caught up with them again. They immediately started firing. “Quick now.” Hux secured their exit with a few blaster shoots of his own and then they were out of the door, running over the rocky ground towards the shuttle. 

When Selene looked over her shoulder, she saw one of the miners standing in the door suddenly, raising his blaster and aiming it directly at Hux. As if in slow motion, it sizzled through the air and she reacted without hesitation, giving him a quick shove out of the way. Her action brought her directly in its path, though. The impact threw her to the ground, pain exploding in her chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Puh, that chapter was kind of a monster.
> 
> Something happened to me that has not happened in a long time. I actually lost my saved data and the two first POVs were lost. Rewriting is really a bitch and it was quite the damper on my motivation. So I would be happy for a little cheer up comment or kudos ;-) 
> 
> Next Chapter will be "Aftermath"
> 
> We will find out what happened to Selene after she has been hurt. How will they all return from Venya Station? And how can you fight an enemy that is able to influence your mind?


	11. Aftermath

Sometimes we are tested. Not to show our weaknesses, but to discover our strengths.  
\- Obi-Wan Kenobi

It was strange how time sometimes flowed, Hux mused, especially in moments of danger. One moment dragging on nearly endlessly, the next moving so fast that you felt helpless in the face of its flow. When he and Selene ran to the waiting shuttle, the few hundred feet seemed to go on forever. He was uncomfortably aware that they were very vulnerable, until they were close enough that the shuttle’s crew could give them some coverage. 

Suddenly two things happened at once. A blaster shot sounded out behind them and he was shoved forward quite hard, his own momentum sending him to the stony ground painfully. When he quickly looked up to ascertain what had happened, he felt shocked disbelief flash through him. Selene was on the floor, having obviously taken a hit and a miner stood in the open doorway, his blaster still raised.

Hux somehow managed to stay rational enough to first deal with their attacker, a well-placed shot to his chest taking care of him. Then he was at his Co-Commander’s side immediately. ‘There is so much blood’, was his first thought, and then ‘no, please not her’, panic nearly overtaking anything else. The coppery scent of her blood was harsh in the air, and it flowed to the ground from her chest so violently, that he could not even see, where the wound was. Wasn’t that kriffing armor supposed to protect her? 

Selene’s eyes were closed and she whimpered in obvious pain. Blast it, he had to get a grip on himself and get her out of here. With a start, the General became aware he had not even looked out for enemies any more. When he did so, it was to a few miners leaving the building, only to be greeted by blaster fire. He glanced at the shuttle, not surprised, when he saw a few of the Zi’daya halfway on the way to him and Selene. They had obviously realized their Commander was wounded. 

“Hux,” Shi’seko called out, his voice urgent. “Get her here. We will give you coverage.”  
He would have to carry her. “Selene,” he said, touching her face. She turned to him, her eyes opening laboriously. Their normal bright golden shine was weak and hazy. “Don’t worry. We will get you out of here.” Trusting that the Zi’daya would cover them, he put one arm under her nape and one under her legs, lifting her up. He could not help jostling her wound in the process, a pained groan escaping her, but the most important thing now was to get her to the shuttle. Away from enemy fire and to medical treatment. 

As he made his way to the ship, her head lolled against his chest, her nearly being unconscious. His heart clenched at how light she felt in his arms and how pale her skin looked. There could not have been a starker contrast to the vibrant woman he was used to.  
“What happened?” Shi’seko asked, his face pinched with worry, when they reached him. “Blaster bolt,” Hux answered, as he made his way up the shuttle’s ramp. “The shooter appeared out of nowhere. I didn’t…” He carefully put Selene on one of the shuttle’s medical cots, only dimly aware that two others were already occupied. “Is your armor not supposed to stop those?” 

“Your standard blasters perhaps, certainly not one of our own. And that was a direct hit.” It was Khi’sheko, who answered him, stepping up to the cot, his normally good-natured smile replaced by deep worry as well. “If she had not worn that armor, it would have gone right through her.” 

Suddenly, Hux remembered that shove, right before she was hit. That blaster bolt had never been meant for her, he thought. Oh blast it, Selene, you reckless, stubborn…  
The world tilted a little bit and he felt more than a little unsteady. Why in the blazes of the universe had she done that?

Groaning Selene began to move violently on the cot, clearly in agony. Now the first shock was over, the pain started to register. Hux realized that the two Zi’daya were just staring, obviously at a loss what to do. Did they not have any kriffing medical training in the Zi’daya military? 

“Get me something against the pain,” he ordered curtly, expecting that one of his troopers would carry out the order. He carefully grabbed Selene’s shoulders trying to keep her on the cot without hurting her. As she started to whimper again, straining against his hold, he looked up angrily. Where were those kriffing pain killers? A hand held an application devise in front of him. AN-3478. Without his helmet, his dark-skin gleaming with sweat, but the General had more important things to worry about at the moment.

He quickly put the devise to his Co-Commander’s neck, the effect immediate, as she started to relax. Now, they had to staunch that bleeding. He needed some bacta.

“Did you just give her the whole thing?” Khi’sheko asked with wide eyes, obviously getting out of the stupor he had been in, since Hux brought in his wounded Commander. “Yes, why?”  
The Zi’daya made a face. “She does not react well to those painkillers, gets all drugged up.”  
Hux felt a flash of annoyance. “Well, I still think that is preferable to writhing in pain.” 

AN-3478 brought him some bacta then and Hux made a mental note to remark on his competence later. He pulled off his gloves and touched the side of Selene’s face to get her attention. “Selene, we will have to get you out of that armor to treat your wound,” he told her.

Her eyes opened slowly, even hazier than before. She blinked a few times. When she was able to focus on his face, she gave him a very lopsided grin. “Oh, Armitage.” She looked at the ceiling. “The room is spinning like crazy. Round, round, round.” She giggled and glanced at him. “You have so pretty green eyes. Like the sea at Ellesmee bay.” Hux began to suspect, what exactly Khi’sheko had meant with all drugged up. The blood loss was definitely not helping as well. “I could drown in them.” Registering the two Zi’daya staring at him, he began to fear this might get a little embarrassing. 

Clearing his throat, he tried to pull the front of her armor down in vain. Blast it, that thing was closed in the back. “We will have to cut it off,” he commented, getting out his monomolecular blade. Khi’sheko gave him a tense nod, holding the blood-soaked fabric up, so that he could cut. Fortunately, his blade proved sufficient for the task, the material parting slowly but surely, exposing her blood covered skin. 

Selene giggled again. “Oh cheeky, are you cutting off my clothes, now? You should have just said you wanted me naked. I would have taken them all off for you.” Her words made Khi’sheko suppress a laugh behind a snort and Shi’seko narrow his eyes at Hux angrily, making him feel like he was fondling her in front of everyone. 

Blast it, he was only trying to help her after all. Hux started to wish, she were unconscious for this. Ignoring the heat rising in his cheeks, he applied the bacta to her wound. Fortunately, now that the armor was off, he could see that while it did still bleed profoundly, the wound was not all that deep, the armor having held off a lot of the impact after all. 

His Co-Commander watched him doing so with a bemused smile on her face. “You are really good at this. But then you are good at many things.” She added something in Zi’daya. Khi’sheko promptly lost it, laughing so hard he was gasping for air. The way Shi’seko’s face turned first red and then white told Hux in which direction her words had probably gone. Oh stars. 

He quickly passed the sworn protector the rest of the bacta, having seen that most of the bleeding had stopped. “I guess, you can manage the rest on your own. I will go to the cockpit and check what the situation is.”

Feeling the Zi’daya captain’s disapproving glare on him all the way, until he left the room, Hux swiftly made his way in the direction of the cockpit, giving AN-3478 a sign to accompany him.  
“Status report, Sergeant,” he addressed him shortly. 

“We had to fall back to the shuttles after the first attack, since we were seriously outnumbered. We lost seven of the troopers and one of the Zi’daya on the ground, as well as our medic. Fifteen wounded, four of them severely.” There was a solemn look on the stormtrooper’s face, as he recapped their losses. “Our aerial forces were simultaneously attacked. Captain Trach and Major Shi’seko have been able to secure the airspace by now, but we lost two TIEs and one of the Zi’daya ships as well.” 

Hux absentmindedly touched a hand to the front of his coat, his fingers coming away painted in red. Although not visible on the dark color, it was completely soaked through with Selene’s blood. He needed to get her to the Finalizer’s medbay, as quickly as possible.  
“We will achieve nothing here with the forces we have,” he said and turned towards the shuttle’s pilot. “Return to the Finalizer immediately. The other shuttles and the aerial squads as well.” Even if his Co-Commander would not like it, he was of a mind to really deal with their enemy from out of the Star Destroyer. 

Hux recalled the eerie atmosphere in the room leading down to the mining shafts, not able to completely suppress a shudder. Still, even with the force there should be no way to escape, if they just levelled the whole structure with the ion cannons, shouldn’t it? 

“Doctor Kline shall already prepare a transport to medbay for the wounded,” Hux added, before returning to the shuttle’s main space. When he stepped back to the cot Selene was lying on, he saw that her eyes were closed again, her face still awfully pale. Shi’seko was in the process of tugging a blanket around her, presumably to help with the shivers that went through her every few seconds.

“How is she?” Hux asked the Zi’daya captain softly. “Unconscious, but stable so far. Though she has lost a lot of blood. The sooner she gets to medbay the better.” While there still was a distinct coldness in Shi’seko’s grey eyes, that told Hux the other man was definitely not approving of whatever he had gleaned the relationship between his Commander and the General was, Selene’s bodyguard was too professional to address the topic now. 

“We will return to the Finalizer as quickly as possible,” Hux murmured, before tearing himself away from his Co-Commander’s side and having a look at the other wounded. It was harder to leave her than he would have thought, but if he was not more careful, he would only sent tongues wagging. 

A few minutes later, a soft shudder signaled that the shuttle had reached the Finalizer again. Hux immediately made for the door, intend to get Doctor Kline here as soon as possible. Indeed, the doctor was already waiting in the hangar with a few of his medics and some moveable medical cots. Unfortunately, so was Captain Peavey with at least one battalion of stormtroopers

“General Hux,” Peavey’s voice was falsely servile, his beady little eyes holding a shrewd expression. “I fear we cannot let you back onboard without a thorough examination. As far as we know, you might be possessed as well.” 

That little rat was really trying to use the situation for his own advantage. The General felt anger course through him violently. “Captain, we have some wounded on board that need medical care at once. I don’t have time for your silly little games.”

Peavey puffed himself up in annoyance, obviously feeling very important. “First Order regulations state that in a case of unknown diseases or influences a quarantine of at least…”

The thought that Selene was lying in the shuttle bleeding and in pain, while Peavey cited kriffing regulations at him made something in Hux snap. Before he could think it through, he had drawn his blaster, pointing it directly at the red-faced captain. Peavey’s eyes widened rather comically in fear. Hux’ voice was ice cold, as he addressed him. “You have three seconds to get out of my way, Captain, or I will remove you myself.” 

With more than a little satisfaction, he noted that none of the stormtroopers seemed inclined to protect Peavey by drawing a blaster. Part of him nearly wished the other man would make a move, giving him a reason to shoot, but the captain was too spineless for that, his eyes flickering nervously.  
“One,” Hux started to count calmly, “two…” 

“I am sure we can solve this without the need to fall back to violence,” the cool voice of his Information officer interrupted the scene, before Hux could decide, if he would really go through with his promise. Opan stepped between Hux and Peavey, giving his General a stare that seemed to indicate he should rethink his actions. 

He turned to Doctor Kline. “Doctor, can you examine everyone quickly to ascertain everything is alright? Perhaps the wounded first?”  
“Of course,” to his credit Kline was utterly composed, as he made his way to the shuttle, motioning to his medics to accompany him, especially if one took into account that one of his subordinates had just been killed during a similar task. 

Peavey’s face had turned a deep red, as he realized he had been completely outmaneuvered again. “Don’t think that Allegiant General Pryde won’t be informed about this,“ he hissed. “He and High Command will surely be very interested in the explanation for your behavior, General.” There was a disparaging tone to his voice. “And in all the other blatant rule breaking that has been going on onboard this ship.” With that threat hanging in the air ominously, the captain scurried away swiftly. 

Hux watched him go with narrowed eyes, slowly putting away his blaster. “We have to get rid of him,“ he remarked to Opan. The blue-eyed captain gave him an assessing look. “While I do agree with you, that might not be so easy,” he sighed. “In the current situation the last thing we need is an internal investigation. Pryde is just waiting for an excuse like that.” 

As Hux opened his mouth to answer, he was interrupted by Kline coming out of the shuttle again with one of the medical cots, a still unconscious Selene lying on it. “Ah,” Opan said softly. “So that is what got you so incensed.” Ignoring the other man’s words, the General made a move to go to her.

Opan held him back with a surprisingly hard grip on his arm. “Blast it Armitage, did you not hear a word I just said? You can’t trail after her to medbay like a lovesick puppy, while we are still in a battle situation. You have been too kriffing obvious today already,” he murmured under his breath. Hux nearly snapped at him to mind his own business, but then his words registered. Unfortunately, Opan was right. He had just given Peavey and therefor Pryde a lot of ammunition against him. And he did have to go to the Command Bridge immediately. But… 

Breathing in deeply, he gave the captain a curt nod. When he turned towards the hangar entrance, Doctor Kline addressed him. “Excuse me General Hux? I still have to examine you swiftly.” As Hux gave him an angry glare, the doctor quickly raised his hands. “Oh, I see everything is in perfect order.” 

Making his way to the Command Bridge together with Opan, Hux was stopped by the sight of a couple kissing enthusiastically in one of the corridors. That pink-striped hair and tight flight suit could only belong to one of Selene’s pilots. Be’amara. For a moment, he watched with something like amused disbelief, as one of her partner’s hands quite openly grabbed the Zi’daya’s ass and drew her against him passionately. 

“Lieutenant Tosla,” the General said, deciding he should intervene before this escalated even more. “Do you think this is the appropriate behavior in a public corridor?”  
The two of them let go of each other at once, Tosla’s angular face turning bright red, as he saw that they were not alone. “General,” he stuttered, obviously at a loss what to say. Hux gave him an expectant look, curious what excuse the young officer would come up with.  
Tosla cleared his throat. “Pilot Be’amara returned from the mission. I was just checking, if she was unharmed, sir.”  
Hux rubbed his temple; he could not deal with this now. “Well, your dedication to that task is clearly commendable.” He remarked rather dryly. ”I would appreciate it though, if you could restrict that kind of activities to your quarters in the future.” 

Tosla nodded with wide eyes, obviously surprised that he was getting off so easily. He grabbed Be’amara’s hand, starting to pull her away. The Zi’daya pilot resisted though and looked at Hux. He noticed that she had not been embarrassed in the slightest by being caught kissing in public. But then Selene surely did not chastise her crew for such behavior. She would probably just give her a thumb up. 

“How is Selene?” Be’amara asked, clear worry in her big brown eyes. “I heard she was hurt.” Hux hesitated for a moment, not used to being questioned by the crew. Still, he could not fault her for caring for her Commander’s wellbeing. “She was shot while we were planetside, yes. She is on her way to medbay though and will surely recover swiftly.”

As he resumed his way to the bridge, Hux noticed Opan’s sideway glances. “Well,” the Captain commented. “That was unusually mellow.” His face turned pensive. “Admiral Tosla is one of our last really secure allies in High Command.” 

“And you think I should intervene in his son’s little dalliance more forcefully?” His Information’s officer was probably right. The General was quite sure that this was not what Tosla senior had in mind, when he had asked him to make sure his son broadened his horizon while on his ship. After all, he could not marry the girl. However, punishing the young man for not adhering to regulations he was breaking himself, did feel a little too much like hypocrisy to him.

Opan had obviously seen his thoughts on his face, because he shook his head slightly. “Peavey is starting to suspect something. There has been more than one holocall to Pryde in the last week we were not informed of. And he tried to bribe one of the technicians in the security center, who told me instead. I had to delete a rather interesting holovid of you and your Co-Commander in the elevators today, though.“  
Kriff, he had actually forgotten about that slip-up. “We are treading on thin ice. We can’t afford any more indications that the crew’s or your relationship with the Zi’daya is anything beyond the regulations.” 

Hux noted that Opan was not even trying to advice him to break things off with Selene. He was already in damage control mode it seemed, having judged any attempt to do so fruitless. “I will be more careful in the future,” he promised. However, he knew that was only a short-term solution. The problem was, if there was something to find, someone would find it at some point. He needed a plan to deal with Pryde, permanently. 

When they stepped onto the Command Bridge, they were greeted by the ominous view of Venya planet in front of them and a very anxious bridge crew. The normal grey color of the planet was nearly entirely immersed in a deep darkness that seemed to roll and shift before their eyes. Hux felt a shiver of unease down his spine.  
“How long has that been going on?”  
“The complete darkness for perhaps ten minutes, sir.” Lieutenant Goran answered him, her face tense. “It started drifting in shortly after you left the planet.” 

“Lieutenant Baska, are the drones still functioning?”  
“Yes, sir, but” the Lieutenant’s voice was unusually shaky. “You better see it for yourself.” Hux stepped closer to the officer’s console, narrowing his eyes at the view in front of him. Those rolling shadows were moving in front of the drones’ cameras as well. But that close to the ground, they could see they were illuminated by blue lightening flashing through them every few seconds. 

A strange high-pitched sound came out of the speakers he could not immediately place. “What is that noise?” he inquired.  
“Screams,” Mitaka stepped up next to him, his aide’s face very pale, as he watched the holo stream as well. “They started at the same time the darkness covered the whole planet.”  
Hux made a split second decision. Whoever was still alive down there, death would be a mercy at this point. Selene would surely understand they had no other choice. 

“Major Tark, prepare the ion cannons. Target the main building,” he ordered. ”Ion cannons ready,” the major reported a few moments later.  
Hux took a deep breath. “Fire!”

The red fire of the lasers cut violently through the shadows, before finding their targets, the glaring shine of the exploding buildings leaving flickering afterimages in front of Hux’ eyes. “Keep firing,” he ordered. They should make sure, that everything was completely destroyed, he thought. Who knew after all, how deep into the mining shafts their enemies had withdrawn? 

As the mining station was going up in flames, the General felt the first stirrings of relief inside him. It seemed even the force was no match for a thorough bombardment after all. The shadows writhed violently away from the flames.

But then they suddenly darkened again, their movements agitated. “We lost the drones,” Lieutenant Baska said, the holo screen turning dark without warning. 

Disbelief making his heartbeat quicken, Hux watched, as the shadows grew impossible long tentacles reaching up from the planet’s surface towards the Finalizer. “Keep firing,” he called out. 

More than one system began to blare out a warning, a shudder going through the ship, the floor jerking underneath his feet. “General, navigation systems are blocked,” Goran reported nervously. ”It is, as if something has grabbed us.” 

For a moment, Hux was tempted to try jumping to hyperspace to get away, but it might be too late for that. The only way to stop this, was to destroy their enemy.  
“All available power into the ion cannons. We have to end this now.” As the lasers kept firing on the mining building, darkness began to close around the bridge’s viewport. Icy coldness was rising in the air, making a few people gasp in sudden fear.  
This was turning into a race, Hux thought, his breath laborious. And then suddenly it was over, the ominous feeling in the air dissolving with the shadows. 

The General put a hand on his console to steady himself. That had been a little too close. He let Major Tark fire on the building for a few moments longer to be really sure, nothing of their enemy remained, before asking for a ship wide status report. Thankfully the damages they had sustained were manageable, the worst a minor tear at one of the maintenance decks that had been easy to quarantine. 

“Do you think they are all destroyed, sir?” Mitaka’s eyes were wide, as he and the General looked down on the rocky planet some time later, the smoking debris of the station the only sign remaining of what had happened. Hux shook his head. “The ones that were here perhaps. But I have the feeling dealing with this enemy permanently will not be that easy.” 

To be honest, the way the shadows had reached for the ship, had shaken him more than he wanted to let on in front of the crew. It had been bad enough that those kriffing force users had been playing with his mind down on the planet, that they were able to attack over a distance like this was deeply disconcerting. 

The next hours passed in a blur, having him deal with the aftermath of the mission. He was able to somewhat restrain himself and only contact medbay a few times over his comms. Although he tried to make it sound indifferent, as he asked for a status report on all the wounded, the way Doctor Kline snapped at him at his fourth call, “She is fine. She is sleeping. And she will be in two hours as well,” told him, that he might have failed on that front.

Hux had long given up on the idea of going to his quarters to find some sleep tonight, so he was not surprised, when he realized it was actually already time for the morning meeting.  
Selene’s empty place beside his made something inside him clench in worry again. When he asked Khi’sheko, who had replaced her in the meeting, he only knew what Doctor Kline had told him as well. The doctor had treated her wound and given her copious amounts of blood replenisher. And she was resting now. 

After the meeting, Hux finally gave in. There was an irrational but insistent part of him that just needed to see for himself that she was really alright.  
Doctor Kline gave him a stern look, as he entered medbay and guided him to one of the private treatment rooms. “You may go in, but she is still sleeping. So don’t wake her up, she needs the rest. I don’t want her on her feet before tomorrow.” 

Stepping inside the room as quietly as possible, the image of his Co-Commander lying in the hospital bed made some strange feeling unfurl inside him. Dressed in a white hospital gown, her pale hair open and fanning out over the cushions, she looked incredible fragile. And very very young. Hux sat down on the chair next to the bed carefully, his eyes still trained on her face. Taking in her by now familiar features, he was taken aback by how different she seemed all pale and still. He had become so used to her passionate nature, those flashing golden eyes and wild smile that her appearing so vulnerable made him deeply uncomfortable. Something inside him longed to protect her from any more harm. His hand moved, before he could stop himself, softly caressing a strand of her hair. 

Catching himself with a start, he withdrew his hand. What in the blazes of the universe was he doing? This weakness for her was becoming dangerous.  
It was the kriffing thought of losing her, which had shaken him so, he thought. But then, he realized, you could not lose something you never had. And she definitely wasn’t his.  
Do you wish she were? The thought flashed through his mind unbidden. 

Rubbing his temple tiredly, he got up, trying to get a grip on his emotions. With Pryde breathing down his neck, he could not afford to get distracted like that now. Especially not by a woman who was by all accounts, if not his enemy, not really his ally. 

Notwithstanding, that she had basically thrown herself between him and a blaster bolt. He just could not comprehend, why she had done so. Perhaps the lines between them were not drawn, as rigorously as it appeared. Perhaps she felt…

He stopped that trail of thought violently. Blast it, was he really foolish enough to let the fact that they were physical intimate make him ascribe any deeper feelings to their relationship? Even if that was the case on Selene’s side, he should deliberate how he could use any weakness to get her help against Pryde and Ren. However, he was strangely reluctant to draw her into that conflict. Because he did not trust her? Or because he knew quite well his odds were not the best? 

Feeling bone tired the General opened one of the supply cabinets of the room. He was quite sure Kline had some stims here as a standard. Indeed, he found them after a short search, the accustomed flash of adrenaline through his veins making him at least feel, if not awake, as if he could get through the day. 

“I had hoped you cut down on those,” there was a distinct disapproval in his Co-Commander’s voice, as it sounded out behind him. Hux looked over at her in surprise, seeing that her eyes were open. He sighed. “I actually did. But it has been a long night. Or day depending how you see it.” 

When he returned to the chair next to her bed, he could not help a smile playing around his lips. “However, don’t worry, I don’t think you have any reason for complaint on a certain front.” She shook her head, obviously not amused. Hux’ smile deepened. “That reminds me. Have you not been very adamant I was the last man in the Galaxy you would ever touch? There must have been some mass extinction I was not aware of.”  
Selene rolled her eyes. “Your restraint is very admirable, General. It took you what? Two days, until you rubbed that in my face?” 

He scrutinized her, taking in her still pale cheeks and the shadows under her eyes. “How do you feel?”  
“Like bantha crap,” she gave a dry laugh. “A little like after a wild night out, but without any of the fun.” Her eyes turned very serious, as she looked at him. “What happened? The last thing I really remember is running to the shuttle and being shot. After that it’s only bits and pieces.”

Hux gave her a short rundown on the situation, although he left out her comments, when she had been under the painkillers influence and his confrontation with Peavey, judging that it was irrelevant. Her face showed deep sorrow at the losses they had sustained. He was a little worried she might disapprove his decision regarding the mining station, but she just shook her head mournfully. “There was nothing else you could have done. It was a close enough call, as it is.” She shuddered.” Unfortunately, I agree with your assessment that whatever we encountered here, it was probably not the main force of our enemy. It is strange that we did not even find any kind of ship that brought them here.” 

“I do wonder, if this was not some kind of trap. They must have realized they are followed by now,” Hux said, deep in thought. 

Something like unease passed over Selene’s features. “You know, I completely forgot to tell you earlier. There was something strange Pa’lenna said to me, when he attacked me. He talked about a Dark One, who wanted me brought to him, because I am Rhea’s heir or something like that.” 

“What?” Hux felt horror rise up in him. So he had been right, that the Zi’daya were not a random target after all. Well, that settled it then, he would not allow her to go on any ground missions ever again. “That was probably, why he only tried to subdue you. They clearly wanted you alive.” 

“Doesn’t feel like that so,” Selene touched her chest with a wince, obviously still feeling the pain there. 

“Well, that blaster shot was not meant for you, wasn’t it?” Hux was watching her face avidly, trying to catch her reaction. His Co-Commander blinked, biting her lip. “I” she stuttered. 

“Care to explain, why you thought it prudent to throw yourself between that blaster bolt and me?” The General could not help the nearly accusing tone of his voice.  
“I did not throw myself between you and a blaster bolt. I shoved you out of the way,” A distinct flush had appeared on Selene’s cheeks. “It was just an instinctual reaction.”

“So your first instinct in a dangerous situation is to throw yourself in front of me?”  
She narrowed her eyes in annoyance. ”I didn’t throw… Blast it, are you actually angry at me for saving your life?” 

Yes. No. Perhaps more at the way her reckless actions played havoc with his emotions. “You nearly gotten yourself killed in the process. A few inches higher and that bolt would have gone through your neck. So I do think I deserve an explanation for you irrational behavior, yes.” 

“Perhaps not everything can be always explained rationally. But I do hope you don’t expect some kind of heartfelt declaration of my feelings now. As I said, it was an instinct, nothing more. I did not see you hesitate to help me against Pa’lenna as well.” Selene’s voice showed her exasperation. 

“Fine,” he ground out, still unsure what to think. “Fine,” she repeated, clearly vexed.  
She began to fiddle with the tube in her arm that led to the infusion rack next to her bed. “Oh, I hate those things, they itch like crazy.”  
Hux bent over her and caught her hand. “Stop that. You are only making it worse.” She frowned at him. “Well, then call Doctor Kline to remove it. I can’t leave with that thing in my arm” 

The General shook his head. “The Doctor was adamant that you should stay until tomorrow. So you should lie back and rest.” 

“Definitely not. I have to have a look at the wounded Zi’daya. And you said two of my people have been killed in battle. Not to speak of the whole mining station being destroyed. There are a thousand things I have to take care of,” Selene was indignant. 

Why did she always had to be so contrary? “And your crew will deal with them until you feel better. Could you just follow an order for one kriffing time in your life, Selene?” he snapped at her. 

“I am not one of your little soldiers you can order around, Armitage,” she answered angrily.  
“Oh believe me, I know,” he growled. “You are impossible stubborn, reckless and irresponsible.”

“Hah, you would just love to be able to order me around, wouldn’t you?” His Co-Commander’s face was flushed in agitation. 

“It would make my life a whole lot easier, yes.” Hux carefully but firmly pushed against her shoulder in order to get her to lie down again. It earned him one of those very irritated glares, she seemed to have reserved exclusively for him. “Don’t think I won’t put a trooper in front of your door to keep you here.” 

“That is bantha crap. None of them would dare disobey me.” There was a wild glint in her eyes again. “And I actually think part of you likes all my little insubordinations.”

Hux reached out a hand, letting his fingers comb through her hair. “Perhaps, but not more than you like provoking me.” He leaned closer to her. The way her breath immediately quickened made him contemplate, if he should try for at least one kiss, before he left. Selene slowly swallowed, her eyes not leaving his. 

The door to the room opened quite forcefully, revealing Doctor Kline, whose solemn face darkened in disapproval. “Are you agitating my patient, General?” He made a shooing motion. “I told you to let her rest.” As Hux let the vexed Doctor compliment him out of the room, the last thing he saw was Selene’s very amused face.

Selene knew she had never been a very easy patient. She just lacked the necessary calm and patience to recuperate inactive in bed for a longer amount of time. Still, that impossible Doctor Kline was getting on her nerves after only half a day. He had even confiscated her datapad, stating it only kept her from sleeping. It left her with exactly nothing to do and nearly going crazy with worry. 

So when the door to her room opened in the early evening, revealing her second in command, balancing a tray of food in his hands, she could have kissed him in relief. 

“Shima!” she exclaimed. “I hope you are here to save me. I am basically held here against my will.” 

Her friend laughed and shook his head. “Unfortunately not, I do have your dinner though. And you are lucky enough to enjoy it in my splendid company. Although I had to promise the doctor not to worry you needlessly.”

He put the food in front of her and sat down on the chair next to her bed. “To calm you down a little, all other wounded from the Zi’daya side have already been discharged.” 

“But we had losses, didn’t we?” she felt a heavy weight settle in her stomach.  
Shima gave her a solemn nod. “Yes, Ze’anna, one of the Tri-Wasp pilots and Hector Fe’shun.”  
“Hector?” Selene thought of the good-natured young man, who had been quite shy for one of the Zi’daya. “He was so happy when he got the posting on the Research fleet last year. He was thinking of adding a few years at University after the war.” Shima nodded sadly. 

“Blast it.” The Zi’daya heir cursed. And if yesterday had shown one thing, then that they were woefully unprepared to deal with their enemy. “I will have to talk with their families. We should probably return to Ellesmee to make new plans anyway.” She looked at her friend, absentmindedly playing with her food, a tasty smelling dish of noodles and vegetables. “How angry with me is Khendrik?” 

“Mmmh, he did spent the whole night at your side, I basically had to drag him out of here in the morning,” Shima tilted his head at her. “Since then he haunts the Evenfall’s corridors, a dark cloud of irritation around him. You gave us quite the fright, you know.” 

Selene avoided his eyes for a moment, busying herself with her food instead. “I am sorry for that. But you know how it is in a battle situation. Things happen and you just react.” 

Shima’s blue eyes turned deceptively innocent. “Speaking of things happening. Care to tell me, how it happened that you are sleeping with General Hux?” 

His Commander had just been in the process of eating a fork full of noodles and promptly inhaled a piece, coughing violently. “What?” she ground out breathlessly, when she could talk again. 

The Zi’daya Captain grinned. “Oh, don’t deny it. We had to give you some of those painkillers that get you all high. You could not stop waxing poetically about his pretty green eyes. Before you offered to take all your clothes off for him that was.” 

“Oh stars,” Selene felt her cheeks heat up violently. “What else did I say?” Shima leaned forward a little, he was obviously enjoying this a lot. “You regaled us all with a detailed account of his prowess in the bedroom. The General has some unexpected virtues, it seems.” He winked at her. “That last part was in Zi’daya though, so only Khendrik and I understood it.”  
Kriff, she could imagine what her sworn protector would have to say regarding the topic. 

She looked at Shima with narrowed eyes. “You seem quite relaxed about it.”  
He shrugged. “Please, I was expecting this to happen since that meeting, where you two were biting each other’s heads of. Let me guess, you had another one of this little arguments and then were just so overcome by desire that you tore each other’s clothes off.” Uhh, that was uncomfortably close to the truth. Her friend must have seen that fact on her face, because he grinned again. “I have to compliment you on your restraint; I would have thought you would give in sooner.” 

As she resolutely concentrated on her food again, not deigning to give him an answer, he chuckled. “Or was it more his restraint?” Selene glared at him. “Well, doesn’t matter. However, it seems you have melted that cold heart. I don’t think I ever saw a man so obviously besotted with you.” 

She shook her head. “Hux is not besotted with me.” 

“Oh, really? I can tell you he completely freaked out, when you were hurt. Even pulled his blaster on Peavey, as that rat did not want to let us back onboard.” 

“What?” Selene listened in disbelief, as Shima quickly recounted the events, after she had been shot. “But,” she felt completely confused by her Co-Commander’s behavior. ”he was all angry with me this morning. Because I shoved him out of the way of that blaster bolt.” 

Her second in command nodded sagely. “This is all probably very new and overwhelming for him. You know all those strange things like positive emotions, caring for another human being, feelings…”  
Selene swatted at him. “This is not funny.”  
“Actually it really is.” Shima’s eyes turned earnest suddenly. “I do have to wonder though why you did it. Throwing yourself between him and a bloster bolt that is.”

Selene scoffed in annoyance. “How many times…I did not throw myself between him and a blaster bolt. I just shoved him out of the way.”  
Her reasoning did not impress her friend. “Whatever you want to call it, it doesn’t change the facts. You risked your life for his.” 

The fair Zi’daya felt uncomfortably caught. “I don’t really know why,” her voice sounded terribly unsure to her own ears. Shima scrutinized her for a long moment, his blue eyes pensive, before he had mercy on her and changed the topic. When he left a short while after, despite her protests and pleas to smuggle her out of medbay, she was left with her own thoughts.

Was there really the possibility that Hux had any feelings for her beyond physical desire? The thought alone should be disconcerting, shouldn’t it? Sleeping with him was bending her morals quite a bit. Allowing herself to care for him, now that would call into question some of her innermost beliefs of right and wrong. Everything he stood for, everything he had done was anathema to her own convictions. And still, despite it all, she could not stop the thrill going through her at the thought that he might care for her. 

Why had she risked her life for his? She stared at the treatment room’s grey ceiling without really seeing it. 

Because she did not want him to die. Because…she took a deep breath. She wanted to see that little half smile of his again, when she said something provoking. She wanted to lose herself in his warmth and his touch. She wanted to trace the lines of his face with her fingers, seeing them soften, when he looked at her. She wanted to rest her head on his chest, breath in his scent and let the galaxy fall away …

Oh kriff, horror went through her, she had not really thought that, hadn’t she? Oh no, no, no. She could not develop any feelings for Armitage Hux. What in the blazes of the universe was wrong with her? She needed to get her emotions under control. 

When Doctor Kline entered her room the next morning, Selene did not give him any opportunity to prolong her stay at medbay, ordering him to only do a quick last examination. Her night had been abysmal, her itching wound and her agitated mind not really letting her rest. Fortunately, her wound looked good, only a thin layer of bacta remaining to help it heal. In a few weeks only a faint shadow or even less would remain. 

Steeling herself for an unpleasant conversation with Khendrik, she made her way back to the Evenfall. When she finally found him in his quarters, he only greeted her with a cold look. Obviously, he would not make this easy for her.

“I am very sorry, I worried you like that,“ she began.  
“No, you are not,” he interrupted her, anger flashing in his eyes. “You always say that, but I do think we both know you don’t really mean it. Because, if you did, you would at least try to change your behavior.” 

“Khendrik, I…” He shook his head. “No, Selene. Don’t think you can wiggle out of that one. I kriffing thought you were dead, when we lost contact. And then you turn up again only to get shot. Do you even have the slightest idea, how I felt in that moment?” 

“I know I am not making your duty easy.” Selene felt real guilt at the pain in his eyes. She had only done what she had thought best in that moment, but he was right that she had not really stopped to consider, what it meant for him. 

“My duty? You think that is why I am agitated? Stars, Selene, I am kriffing worried about you. Since we started this damn mission, you are in one life threatening situation after the other. If you continue like this, you will get yourself killed. And I won’t be able to protect you.” At the last sentence the Zi’daya Captain’s voice turned more than a little rough. 

“I am not doing this on purpose,” Selene tried to defend herself. “It just kind of happens.”  
Khendrik’s grey eyes were cool. “Oh, I think we both know why those things keep happening. After all you are always in the company of the same person.”

“So that is your real reason for being angry.” Selene pressed her lips together. “I can imagine you have a lot of disapproving things to say.” 

“I do think you will find it quite hard to even find one person in the whole galaxy, who would approve of you sleeping with one of the most notorious members of the First Order.” Khendrik shook his head. “What in the blazes of the universe are you thinking, Selene? He ordered the death of billions. Billions. You know that, don’t you?”

Yes, she did. But there was a part of her that had started to make a difference between the Armitage Hux she was getting to know and the ruthless First Order General. Hearing the facts out loud, made a strange kind of nausea rise up inside her. “It doesn’t mean anything. It is just sex.” 

Her sworn protector gave her a disbelieving look. “You honestly want to tell me, you are taking countless risks just for a good lay?” He scoffed. “Perhaps you even believe that. I would advise you to stop lying to yourself, before this ends in a catastrophe, though.” 

With those words he was out of the door, Selene staring after him in dismay. Kriff, that did not went well. 

The next hours she tried to deal with everything that had happened on the mission. After she had talked with the crewmembers that had been wounded, she prepared herself for the task of taking care of the dead. While Ze’anna had been lost with his ship, Hector’s body had been put into a guarded room in medbay. First Order regulations obviously stated that he would be disposed of through an airlock, because there might be an unknown threat. After what had happened on Venya, she could not even disagree with the precaution. Still, she could not leave him without at least a small ceremony and all the other victims deserved the same. 

What meant she had to talk with Hux about it. She fiddled with her comms for a moment, strangely reluctant to call him. Stars, this was ridiculous. 

Selene took a deep breath and sent out the call. “Commander, if you could wait a moment,” Hux’ voice when he answered was very composed. She could hear quick steps on the other side. “Selene, now,” there was considerably more warmth in his voice. He had obviously gone somewhere private. ”I hope you are feeling better?” 

“Yes, yes. I am much better,” she answered absentmindedly. Shima’s words from earlier resounded in her head. “He is besotted with you.” Blast it, he really was much softer towards her than towards anyone else. 

Her unease made her own words unusually curt. “I wanted to discuss with you what we should do with our dead after the mission.” He sighed. “I can’t let you…”  
“No, no I understand that. It is a necessary precaution. It is just that I thought to have a short ceremony, before putting the body out in space,“ the words felt hard to say. “Since we won’t be able to have a real burial at home. I thought you might do yours at the same time?” 

“There is no ceremony for the fallen in the First Order,” her Co-Commander’s voice was soft. “You mean you just throw them out of an airlock?” Selene felt a disbelieving horror rise up in her.  
“Yes,” his voice was curt. “Only the troopers or…”  
“Everyone. The fate of individuals is irrelevant compared to the greater goals of the Order.” 

She had to take a deep breath at those words. Well, that would not happen under her watch. “It might look strange, if we do a ceremony and you not. You might as well join.”  
There was a telling silence on the other side of the connection.  
“Selene, that would be…” 

“Against regulations, of course. Perhaps your life would be a lot easier, if you saw those regulations more as guidelines and not rules carved in stone. Stars, it is only a little farewell ceremony.” 

“Because I am so good at following the rules presently,” there was more than a hint of sarcasm in Hux’ voice. “Fine, but only something small.” 

“Thank you.” Selene kept her voice light. “I will contact you with the time, when I have prepared everything.” She ended the call, before he could overthink his decision. 

An hour later, after a short stop with Captain Trach, who had been strangely nervous in her company, Selene made her way down to the Stormtrooper quarters. One part of a Zi’daya farewell ceremony was remembering those, who had passed on. And she was intend on having that part for the deceased Stormtroopers as well. Not that she had mentioned that to her Co-Commander. She had a feeling that she would not have gotten his acquiescence, if she had. 

After asking Captain Fallon for the room number, she went in search of Tank and his squad. This would probably be easier, if she got somebody she knew to help her.  
When she entered the room full of bunk beds, after a short knock on the door, it prompted every occupant to jump up nervously and salute, more than one surprised look on their faces. The two female troopers quickly put away something that looked like a holo sphere, obviously feeling caught. Only young Pip was grinning at her enthusiastically. For a moment, she did not know what to do, until she remembered First Order protocol. ”Mmh, at ease.” 

While that made the troopers relax slightly, she still felt, as if she was intruding. Thankfully, Pip interrupted the uncomfortable silence. “Commander Sa’onserei! Are you visiting us?” His eyes widened a little. “Or is this an inspection?” 

“What? Oh, no. I just…” Selene pulled out her datapad and frowned at it. ”According to my information, you lost one of your squad members on our mission to Venya planet.” She looked at Tank, when she continued, so she saw the surprise on his face at her next words. “We are having a small ceremony for the fallen later today and I thought you might want to say something about him.” 

As deep unease flashed through Tank’s brown eyes, Selene realized it had perhaps not been the best idea, to do this here. She took his arm and pulled him towards the door. “We should discuss this somewhere a little more private, I think.” 

A look of resigned acceptance on his face, Tank led her to a small room at the end of the corridor. “Commander,” he turned towards her with a solemn voice, “while I really appreciate the thought behind it, it is unfortunately not…”

“I already cleared it with General Hux,” she interrupted him, before he could cite First Order regulations at her. Stars, why was everyone on this ship so fond of those?

“Really?” There was definitely doubt in Tank’s tone. 

“Well,“ Selene amended, somehow not able to keep this from the earnest Sergeant. “I might not have gone into a lot of detail, what the ceremony entails, but in principle yes.” 

Tank sighed. “So you didn’t tell him there was a personal component, didn’t you?”  
The Zi’daya glanced away feeling a little caught. Fine, she was trying to get through with this, knowing quite well that Hux would not approve.  
“You told me he is actually caring for his troops,” she said a little reproachfully. “Captain Trach has already agreed to say a few words regarding his pilots.” 

Tank shook his head. ”Trach has always been a rule breaker. It will probably earn him some time at sanitation again.” He gave her a scrutinizing look. “Permission to speak freely, Commander?” 

Selene waved her hand. “Yes, of course.” 

Tank rubbed his temple. “While I said that and I do think it is true, there is still a big difference of what the General may think privately and what he will do in public.” His deep voice turned soft. “I think you can’t imagine how hard it is to break rules that have been drilled into you for years. I always expect some kind of punishment every time I even consider ignoring the regulations.” 

Selene stared at him. “You were in the Stormtrooper program under Brendol Hux, were you not?” She should probably not ask this, as it was a private topic, but she could not help herself, after what Hux had told her on Venya. “What kind of punishment do you mean?” 

“Being whipped with his belt, going without food or water for days, being put into a pitch dark room alone and one of the instructors had a fondness for electric charges.” The Sergeant’s eyes were unfocused, his face carefully blank, as he shared his memories with her. “You know, the usual.” 

The usual? Selene felt a dozen emotions flash through her violently; disbelief, horror, compassion and a bone deep anger at a man and an organization that did something like this to anyone, especially children. “How old were you?” 

“Around seven I think. It is hard to say, because the Hutts did not keep any real records for any of us. Hux was younger though, perhaps five.” The sergeant tilted his head at her, clearly aware, why she was so interested in the topic. 

“Stars,” she whispered. She had known that Hux’ childhood had not been an easy one, but this was heartbreaking. “But Armitage was Commander Hux’ only child, didn’t he...”

“He always went hardest on him. Hux was quite small for his age at that time. The thought that his son could be anything less than a model soldier made the Commander punish him even more often.” 

Selene had to sit down on the only chair in the room, her mind spinning. “He told me there was an especially bad time when he left the stormtrooper program.” 

There was real astonishment on Tank’s face at that information. “He told you that?”

“It actually sounded, as if his father nearly…”

“He nearly killed him that night. Or to be more precise in the next two days, when he did not get any medical treatment. The Commander was of the opinion only the weak perished through something as simple as an infection. When Admiral Sloane found out about it, she was furious. It prompted her to take Hux away from his father and put him into the First Order Academy, even if he was still technical too young for that.”

Selene threw a glance at the Sergeant, her voice barely a whisper. “And how did she find out?” When Tank only looked away without answering, she sighed. “You are a good person, you know that, Tank?” 

The Sergeant’s brown eyes met hers, warmth in them. Suddenly the Zi’daya realized there was more than a little wetness on her cheeks. It seemed somewhere during his story she had not been able to keep back a few tears without even noticing it. She bit her lip and wiped her hand over her face, uncomfortable at having her feelings on display so openly. But there was no judgement in the stormtrooper’s eyes, only understanding.

“Perhaps you could tell me about ZN-4080? I could do that part then. We can always say I ordered you to help me this way,” she offered as a compromise. 

Tank nodded and gave her a slight smile. “Well, let me think, we called him ‘Clics’ you know, because he was the fastest shooter I have ever encountered. Kriffing reflexes like a Loth-Cat. And he really liked…”

Sometime later, after a few more talks with the other deceased trooper’s squads, Selene made her way back to the Evenfall with a heavy heart. How easy it was to forget in a war that the other side was human too. That there was a story behind every enemy face. 

Intellectually she knew that this was no excuse, there were a million bad childhoods in the galaxy and not all of them went to war because of it. But still… 

Her kriffing heart could not help hurting with the unfairness of it all. And the things she had found out about Hux’ past. They made her feel compassion for him, something soft and warm…  
“Are you sure this is only compassion?” part of her whispered. 

Selene took a deep breath. Those emotions were dangerous. She was not stupid, even if Hux might care for her in some way, it did not mean his allegiances to the First Order would change one bit. Both Tank’s and Shima’s words from earlier resonated through her head. There had been a definite warning there, if she was not too blind to see it. Armitage had said it to her himself, he thought whatever was between them was a weakness. And what if he decided it was a weakness he needed to eradicate at some point? 

Could she really risk a nearly foolproof plan on a flimsy hope that after years of indoctrination something worth saving had survived inside Armitage Hux? 

He should have known, Hux thought with something between dismay and exasperation, as he arrived at the A hangar to find not the small gathering he had been expecting, but at least three battalions of his stormtroopers, all of the Finalizer’s pilots as well as the complete Zi’daya crew. His Co-Commander had sounded a little too innocent during their call earlier. He frowned, as he took in the row of nine metal caskets in the front, two braziers glowing softly to the left and right. Where did she even got those? 

Selene stood next to the caskets with that blonde pilot friend of hers. Both woman were dressed in flowing, simple white dresses. With her pale hair flowing openly around her shoulders as well, his Co-Commander looked more than a little ethereal tonight. Hux realized that actually all the Zi’daya were dressed in white, so it was obviously a traditional thing. The stark contrast to the First Order black made something nag at the edge of his mind. 

Only inclining her head at him in greeting, since she was obviously avoiding speaking with him before the ceremony, Selene touched her friend’s arm. The blonde Zi’daya nodded and took a few steps to the side. 

Hux had always thought himself to be a person completely without any use for sentimentalities. Still, as Major Shi’seko’s clear voice resounded in the spacious hangar, he could not help the shiver going down his spine. He could not understand the words, since the mournful song was in the Zi’daya language, but there was a sadness to it that resonated with something deep in his soul. While he had seen such ceremonies as nothing but superstitious foolishness in the past, part of him felt, as if he was witnessing something old and sacred. 

When the last notes of the song faded away, Selene stepped up in front of the caskets, her face solemn. 

“When someone leaves this galaxy, especially through violence, there is always a void. And some of it will never go away. But as much as it pains us, that we have to part, we can be sure that at least those that leave us today, do so because they defended something they believed in. This galaxy. Its freedom. Their people. In the end, no life is for nothing. Every one of us is leaving a part of themselves behind, when we have to go. Through everyone we have touched and who has touched us. Because no one is a lonely star, we are all connected through the tapestry of the universe…”  
Hux was not really surprised she was good at this. She was after all the heir to a star system. 

Selene went to the first casket. “Hector was an inquisitive soul. I can still remember the first day he was on the Evenfall. He actually thought I was one of the technicians and when I couldn’t answer one of his questions…”  
As his Co-Commander went on to describe her crewmembers, Hux could not help thinking about her words. ‘Every one of us is leaving a part of themselves behind.” He wondered what would be said about him, if he were lying there. A General of the First Order? Brendol Hux’ bastard? The man behind Starkiller? A failure?  
There should be something more, shouldn’t there be? But then who would even care enough to speak for him?

He was so caught up in those thoughts, that for a moment he did not even realize that Selene did continue along the row of caskets.  
“ZN-4080 or ‘Clics’ was certainly one of the best shots in the First Order. But those quick reflexes also helped him on more than one occasion, when…”  
Disbelief went through the General. She was not really doing, what he thought she was doing? That impossible, stubborn woman had obviously gone down to the stormtrooper quarters and… This was so far out of regulations, that he could not even wrap his head around it. 

She was giving a face to every single one of those fallen troopers. And the way she was doing it, with her little stories and warm words. Even with most of those in attendance in armor, he could practically feel the reaction to her speech, a few chuckles escaping people here and there at the more humorous parts. 

Anger coursed through him. But if he interrupted her now, it would only make things worse, making everyone aware that he had not known in advance, what she was planning. Kriff, and all this with Pryde and Peavey already on his case. 

He was not even surprised, when Captain Trach stepped up after the Zi’daya had finished and told a few anecdotes about his two lost pilots. Knowing the Captain, Selene had probably not needed to ask him twice to do anything against the rules. 

As the caskets were aligned in front of the hangar door, Major Shi’seko resumed her haunting song again. Hux saw that his Co-Commander was dabbing at her eyes quite openly, after she had touched the casket belonging to her crewmember one last time. When the caskets flowed out into space, the Zi’daya all murmured a melodious phrase, many of them kissing the customary stele, they were wearing. Selene did the same with hers, the diamond in its tip catching the light like a little star.  
“May the stars guide us back together in the next life,” she murmured the words in Basic. 

The ceremony obviously over, people began to disperse slowly. His Co-Commander made her way in his direction, interrupted by a few people here and there, who wanted to talk with her. When she reached him, she threw one look at his face and nodded in the direction of the Evenfall. At least it seemed she was aware they should have their discussion somewhere private. 

A few moments later, they stepped into a small room that was obviously her office on the ship. Hux only dimly took in the warm wooden colors, parts of various machines cluttering her desk, before he rounded on her.

“Do I have to tell you what you did?” His ire at her made his voice rough. “Or do you know and just don’t care in what situation you are bringing me?” 

“I will not apologize for giving the people, who lost their lives in service to us at least a minimum of respect,” she snapped, her own anger visible in the way color flooded her cheeks.

“I told you this ceremony is against regulations. And you just went and made it indefinitely worse. You know the stormtroopers are not allowed individual names.”

“Well, that is just inhuman and plain evil,” Selene growled at him. 

“If that is your opinion, you can complain to High Command, perhaps you can persuade them to change the rules for you,” he answered coldly, at the end of his patience with her. He had trusted her with the ceremony today and she had gone and exploited his lenience towards her. 

Something like hurt flashed over her features. “Please tell me you are better than this, Armitage.”

Her words and the way she said them, her golden eyes wide and sad, made him feel strangely guilty.  
“Blast it Selene, do you really think I begrudge those troopers a few words? But I already have kriffing Pryde breathing down my neck. How often do you think I can break the rules without it having any consequences?”

“You are a General of the First Order, surely…”

“I am a General of the First Order, whose superiors want him dead.” Hux gave her a sarcastic laugh. “And I ensure you they won’t hold such a nice little ceremony in my remembrance.” 

Her expression turned a lot softer at his words. “Armitage…” 

“And what do you suppose I do about your little illegal mining station? And your deal with the Hutts? You realize I have to report this to High Command, don’t you? You violated a direct agreement with the Order.” 

Resignation flashed over her features. “Well, then do what you have to do,” she said curtly. “I never asked you not to. I certainly had no illusions that you would let any sentimentalities stop you.” She went to the door. “I have to go. It is tradition to spend the night after a burial toasting the ones that have passed, remembering them in company.” 

After she had left, Hux followed her much slower, for the first time in many years he had a craving for a stiff drink suddenly. 

When he reached the Finalizer’s officer’s lounge, he was not surprised to find it already mostly occupied by the Zi’daya. Trying to ignore the presence of his Co-Commander, he went directly to the bar ordering a Corellian brandy. Despite his resolution, he could not help his gaze straying to her again and again, as he sipped on his drink. The way she looked tonight…  
Like a bright star shining in the darkness.  
His eyes caught on the bacta bandage peeking out of the top of her dress. It reminded him uncomfortably, how close her brush with death had been. 

“General,” Captain Shi’seko leaning on the bar next to him, made Hux look over. The cold expression in the other man’s eyes, as he let his gaze wander first to his Commander and then to Hux made clear, that his preoccupation with Selene had not gone unnoticed. 

“Captain,” Hux took another sip of his drink, the strong alcohol warming his blood. He had a feeling he knew, where this was going. 

“People always ask me how I deal with it.” There was a contemplative quality to the Zi’daya’s voice. “Guarding someone, who has no concept of danger. Who just goes in recklessly without any thought for consequences.”

“I have to admit the question crossed my mind a few times as well,“ Hux offered calmly.

Shi’seko watched with an indulgent expression on his face, as Selene laughed loudly at something her second in command said. “I’ve known her since she was born. Deacon’s wild little sister. She always had that ability to light up a room with her presence. It is part of her nature. As is that kriffing recklessness. And I accept that. It is part of what makes Selene Selene after all. And I love her as she is. As my friend. The sister of my heart besides Briseis. And my leader.” Not more than a few weeks ago, Hux would have looked down on such an open display of feelings, judging them a weakness. Now he could not help feel a slight envy at the bonds that existed between the Zi’daya people and how easily they acknowledged them. “There is not much I would not do to protect her, though. Even from her own errors in judgement.“

“You might not believe me, Captain, but I honestly don’t mean Selene any harm.” 

The grey of Shi’seko’s eyes turned glacial. “Unfortunately, General, unlike Selene, I don’t have a propensity to see some good in everyone. I think we both know, you will not hesitate to leave her to the wolves the moment it gains you an advantage. Just be aware, when that moment comes, I will be there.” 

With a curt nod, the Zi’daya Captain returned to his people’s table, leaving Hux looking after him in thought. As far as threats went that had been one of the lighter ones, he had received in his life. But also one of the more serious ones, he would wager. 

“I propose you have been just warned to keep your hands of the princess?” Tritt Opan’s blue eyes held amusement, as he leaned over the bar to signal to the bartender to bring him a drink as well. Hux used the opportunity to get his glass refilled as well.  
“Something like that,” he murmured, not in the mood to elaborate. The way Shi’seko had been sure he would stab Selene in the back at some point, bothered him more than it should. Not that he gave a damn about the opinion of Selene’s bodyguard. 

“Well, one word of advice. Whatever your little arrangement with your Co-Commander is, I sincerely hope it also includes some kind of military support. A few more stunts like today and Pryde will sic internal investigations on us,” the Captain said seriously.  
“I am working on it,” Hux answered curtly, downing his drink, feeling more than a little cornered. 

Another glass of brandy later, the General realized that drinking more than he should, after a night without sleep and staring at his Co-Commander, would probably not solve any of his problems. He decided to go to his quarters, but when he got up, Selene’s eyes met his. She slid her gaze to the door accompanied by a nearly imperceptible nod of her head.

As he waited outside the entrance of the lounge for a few minutes, Hux already began to think he had imagined the message behind her gesture, but then the door opened and Selene stepped out. She immediately grabbed his hand and dragged him along the corridor, a peculiar expression on her face.

Opening a door leading to a small maintenance room, she pulled him inside. Before he could ask her what her intentions were, she had pushed him against the wall, her lips colliding with his forcefully. Considering all that had happened, he should have probably slowed her down, but instead he found himself giving in again like so often before, drowning in her touch. He buried his hands in her glorious hair, the fair strands soft under his fingers. He had to admit he liked it, when she wore it open like this, even if it was probably quite impractical. 

After a few minutes of passionate kissing, Selene put a hand to his chest and made a step backwards. There was a becoming flush on her cheeks and her eyes twinkled. “I will have to go back soon, before anybody misses me,” she said.  
He raised an eyebrow. “To what do I owe this little visit?”  
She scoffed. “Funny question. You were staring at me the whole time.” 

Hux sighed, one hand moving towards her hip to draw her closer again. “Listen, about what I said earlier. I actually have no other choice than to report you to High Command, the whole ship has seen that mining station, Peavey included. ”  
Selene tensed up slightly under his touch. “You know this is working so much better, if I just don’t give you any opportunity to speak. Perhaps I just need to keep your mouth occupied at all times.”  
Hux threw a scandalized look at her at those words. “Selene…”  
She met his eyes with an unfamiliar glint in hers then. “You know, you are probably right about the mining station. But, “ she tilted her head. “you are the only one, who knows about my agreement with Trilla.” So she was not above trying to influence him after all. 

“Why do you even need that agreement? Stars, I have seen your weapons. You should be able to defend yourself easily.” 

“We have the technology yes, but no fleet to speak of,” there was an old chagrin in Selene’s voice. “No armament clause in our constitution. And before you ask, believe me I tried to change it a few times. Could not get the necessary votes, though. The research fleet is actually a loophole we have been using for years.” 

“Oh, the joys of a democracy,“ Hux could not help comment. His Co-Commander shook her head at him. He let a few locks of her hair run through his fingers.  
“If you want me to hold that information back, you will have to offer me something in return, Selene.“ He gave her a prompting look. “That is how it works.”  
Opan was right, they needed leverage against Pryde and that soon. 

She looked away. “I can’t.” “Why?” “Because in the end that would be supporting the First Order.” She stopped herself, before she could say anything more. 

Hux stared at her. Now that had been telling. “Please tell me you did not use that money to support Organa.” Selene tried to move away from him, but he tightened his grip on her.  
“I would never be so stupid to directly support the Resistance with any kind of money,” she answered. Well, that left a lot of possibilities open. One worse than the other. 

The General felt unease flash through him. Blast it, he had always suspected she was sympathizing with those kriffing rebels, but if she was really supporting them…  
He let his hand glide to her nape, forcing her to look at him. “Promise me to never act directly against the First Order, Selene.”  
Defiance flashed in her eyes. “Why? To make your decisions easier for you? You will have to live with them not me.”  
“There is no decision, only what duty demands of us,” the unfeeling words came to his lips without thought, burned in his mind ages ago.  
He could see pain cloud her eyes, as she pressed her lips together. “Well, then I hope you will have the decency to do it yourself, Armitage, if a disciplinary mission to my planet becomes necessary.” The thought of that ever becoming a reality made something inside him turn very still and cold. 

Selene moved away from him, obviously intending to leave. Before she could open the door, he moved himself, caging her in against the wall. “Stars Selene, don’t you understand that I just can’t?” Somehow, the words to explain the turmoil in his head seemed to escape him. Her eyes met his then, their expression searching, as she scrutinized him. She must have seen something on his face, because her own features softened and her hand came up slowly, tracing along his cheek to his jaw. She took a deep breath. 

“Do you think Pryde could be appeased with a fleet wide delivery of our blasters?” she asked. “Probably yes, those are impressive,” he answered truthfully. She nodded. “And should I sent him the model that can be switched off through an electric impulse from the outside and you the real ones?” Her words made him look at her in real surprise. “I would need a list of those First Order Commanders you consider allies then, of course.” 

Opan would shake his head in exasperation, if he ever found out he asked the question, but… “Are you sure?”  
She smiled at him then, one of her brilliant smiles that lit up her whole face. “Oh yes, quite sure.”

Selene stepped closer to him and reached for the concealed buttons of his uniform jacket. Watching her open them, he raised an eyebrow. “I thought you have to go back soon?”  
She hummed softly and let her hands slide under the open jacket and the shirt underneath. The feeling of her touch on his skin made him shiver slightly. “I do,” she answered. “Just give me a few moments.” A few moments to do what, he nearly asked, but then she crossed the remaining space between them, her arms going around him and her head coming to rest against his chest. Oh. 

For a moment, he remained frozen in place before putting his arms around her as well and burying his nose in her hair. He could feel her breathing in deeply. Mmh, this was actually really nice. Feeling her warmth against him, was soothing a part of him that had been on edge since she had been shot yesterday. 

“You know,” she murmured very softly against the material of his shirt. “The answer to your question this morning. It is quite easy.” Her fingers trailed little circles against his skin. “I don’t want you to die.” The words hung in the air between them, resonating in his head over and over. There was more than one meaning behind them, he realized and it made something pierce through him he could not name.  
“I don’t want you to die, too,” he said after a moment. 

“That is good to know,” she commented. ”If it does happen though, don’t worry, I would even hold a very touching speech in your remembrance.” He stared down at her. That kriffing ability of hers to see so much more than she should.  
He tried to make light of it. “I don’t know, if that really reassures me. After all, I heard your poetic descriptions of me, when you were under those painkillers influence.”

Selene looked up at him with a distinct flush on her face, pouting slightly. “That’s unfair. I was not of a sound mind.” The sight made him slide his hand back into the hair at her nape, tilting her head and claiming her lips in another kiss. In the end, she stayed with him a lot longer than was probably advisable. 

Briseis watched with narrowed eyes, as Selene excused herself to the restroom and left their table. Having seen the way General Hux had stared at her friend the whole evening, she was not surprised, when instead of turning left in the direction of the restrooms Selene walked out of the room purposefully. A glance to the bar confirmed her suspicion that Hux had left as well. 

The blonde pilot felt annoyance stir inside her. When Selene had not returned nearly half an hour later that feeling had morphed into real anger. Obviously some of it showed on her face, because Shima bumped her shoulder and raised his eyebrow. “Everything okay? You look a little miffed.”  
“Yes,” Briseis answered, seeing that Selene stepped back into the room at that moment. For someone, who had still been in medbay this morning her friend looked quite radiant, a distinct glow to her face. Briseis got up. “I just have to discuss something with Selene.” 

While she had postponed any discussion with the Zi’daya heir, as long as there were so many other urgent topics, that consideration would end now. 

Taking the other woman by the arm, she pulled her towards one of the lounge’s alcoves for some privacy. The unsure, guilty expression that flashed over Selene’s face for a moment told her, her friend was aware, why she wanted to talk with her. 

“Can’t you even hold yourself back for one kriffing day? We just had a burial ceremony after all,” the pilot could not help the accusing tone of her voice.  
Selene’s eyes widened. “I don’t know, what you mean.”  
Briseis shook her head angrily. “Don’t you dare try to lie to me now. Masir and I walked in on you and Hux, when I was searching for you, because of Trilla.” She scoffed sarcastically. “Letting General Starkiller fuck you over a supply crate in the hangar? Really classy, Selene.”

Selene’s face turned a deep red. “Oh stars, what exactly have you seen?” Briseis did not feel very compassionate. “Quite enough. Believe me, I could have done without those images in my head.”  
Her friend could not meet her eyes, her cheeks still flushed, as she stared at the floor. “And now you want to chastise me for my behavior.” She sighed and bit her lip. “And rightfully so, I suppose. I assure you, your brother has already done quite a good job at it this morning.” 

Oh, that meant even Khendrik was not longer able to ignore Selene’s latest stunt. Briseis narrowed her eyes at her friend not willing to let her get away with this. “You promised me not to be that reckless, Selene. Blast it, you kriffing know, who he is and what he has done. He is dangerous. And you can’t trust him one bit.” 

Something strange flashed over the other woman’s face at those words. There was an unsettling vulnerability in her eyes, when she answered her. “It’s not all that black and white, Briseis. As you well know.” The blonde felt a deep unease rise up inside her. The last time Selene had worn such a tender expression on her face for a guy had been her ill-fated relationship with Iannis Peragis. But this had the potential to end in an even bigger mess.  
“Please tell me you have not developed some kind of soft spot for General Hux,” Briseis’ voice had turned incredulous. 

“I don’t know,” her friend rubbed her temple tiredly, a little desperation in her voice. “Perhaps, I don’t know anything anymore. Contrary to what you all seem to believe, I don’t have the answer to everything.” Briseis felt her anger melt at Selene’s obvious distress. She put a hand on her arm in support. “You don’t have to deal with everything on your own, you know? We have your back, as always.” She raised an eyebrow. “Even if you are making moony eyes at Mister “Subject to the might of the First Order or have your planet eradicated”. 

Selene gave a dry chuckle. ”This mission is not turning out quite as easy as we have hoped.” Briseis sighed. “No, it certainly isn’t.” 

Her conversation with her Commander leaving her more worried than ever, the blonde Zi’daya went in search of Elodia. She definitely needed a second opinion on this. 

She found the dark-skinned aide at a table with Fayth and Tank, but she joined her immediately on one of the lounge’s sofas, when she asked her for a conversation in private.  
“There is something I have to talk with you about. You will probably not believe it, but…”  
“Oh,” Elodia interrupted her with a grin. “You found out that Selene is sleeping with Armitage Hux.”  
“What?” Briseis stared at her friend openmouthed. “You already know about that?”  
Elodia’s grin turned even wider. “I got the story out of Dopheld two days ago. It seems she visited his office and made the General see stars.  
Briseis made a face. “Doesn’t the man have the biggest quarters on this ship? Why do they have to get it on somewhere public all the time?”  
Elodia laughed. “That would indicate that those encounters are somewhat planned.” A more serious expression appeared on her face. “But why are you so agitated about it?” 

“Do I have to remind you, why we are actually here?

“Mmmh, all things considered this might not be the worst development for us,” Elodia commented. When Briseis wanted to counter her assessment, she shook her head. “No Brie, you know as well as I do that no plan is ever written in stone.” 

“Well, if everyone is suddenly so chill about all this, I am beginning to wonder, why I am taking things slow with Masir.” 

An amused smile played around the other woman’s full lips. “The only person holding you back there are yourself, my friend,” she stood up. “Perhaps you should remember that some things are worth taking a risk.” 

Staring after her deep in thought, Briseis remained seated a moment longer, before getting up as well, a new determination in her step. She quickly made her way to the Finalizer’s officer’s quarters, Masir having mentioned his room number, for emergencies as he had said with a wink, in one of their conversations. Well this was kind of an emergency, wasn’t it? 

Briseis pressed the door signal once, feeling a little nervous now that she was actually here. The Galatean Captain had left quite early, the death of his two pilots heavy on his mind. It took some time until he answered the door and when he finally did, she realized he had been already in bed. And he was obviously sleeping without a shirt on. As her eyes wandered over the defined muscles under tan skin, Briseis realized all her doubts had miraculously vaporized.  
“Briseis,” he greeted her, his eyes lighting up, his voice still rough from sleep. “Has something happened?” 

A smile on her face she stepped up to him and pressed her lips to his, using the way his arms immediately came up around her to maneuver him inside the room. Between hungry kisses, she quickly scanned the room for the essentials. Ah, bed in the left corner only a few feet away.  
She let go of him for a second, Masir frowning at her in confusion. “You were right,” she commented with a grin. “Very comfy looking bed.” And then she let her dress slide over her shoulders to pool on the floor. Her bra and her panties followed swiftly. 

The way Masir’s eyes first widened and then heated up, was more than a little satisfactory. He swallowed hard. “Briseis, are you really…”  
“Definitely.” She kissed him again, before giving him a calculated shove that made him fall backwards on the bed. With a laugh, she quickly followed him, straddling him, as she leaned in for another kiss. He indulged her for a moment, before grinning up at her cheekily, grabbing her arms and reversing their positions with a swift roll. “You can be on top the second time,” he murmured, as he slowly moved his lips down her body. “There are a few things I have been fantasizing about for quite some time.” 

“The second time?” Briseis murmured. “Well, aren’t we modest.” Her words made him teasingly circle her nipple with his finger, before leaning in to follow the motion with his tongue. She squirmed underneath his touch, desire burning through her violently. “Infidel,” he laughed, hazel eyes sparkling, “I fear I have to put all my efforts into converting you into a believer.”

Sometime later, as the touch of his hands and lips played over her body skillfully, she would have told him she was already converted. If she had any breath left between the moans that escaped her. When the piercing need rising up in her became nearly too much to bear, Masir finally moved on top of her again. His eyes met hers, the desire on his face morphing into something more tender, as he slowly pushed inside her, driving a soft gasp from her lips.  
She wrapped her legs around him drawing him even deeper, a groan escaping him. “Stars, Briseis.”  
She lost herself in the rhythm of their bodies then, his heat and the pleasure of his touch overtaking everything else. Soon she was falling over the edge, him following behind her with a gasp of her name. 

Afterwards they lay together on the bed, Masir’s fingers playing with her hair, while she dozed against him, completely contend. Suddenly he rolled on his stomach and looked at her with a questioning expression in his eyes. “Any doubts left?” he asked seriously. 

Briseis touched his face, taking in his soft smile and disheveled brown hair, her heart so full that she could not speak for a moment. “No,” she said finally and to her own surprise, she meant it. 

A naughty grin on her face she gave into the temptation and gave him a slight slap on his buttocks. “Although I am still waiting for that second time.” 

“Little minx,” he laughed and reached for her again. 

When she lay in his arms hours later listening to his deep breaths, as he slept, their bare legs tangled under the blankets, she realized Elodia had been right.  
Some things were worth taking a risk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah well that turned out a lot more emotional and fluffy than originally planned.
> 
> But I guess it is the Christmas edition and we can all use a little fluff in our lives these days. 
> 
> First of all, I wish you all a wonderful Christmas and a happy new year! 
> 
> I will be away at the family until around mid of January, so the fic will be on a short hiatus until then. 
> 
> If I could have a little Christmas wish, I would be very happy for every comment and kudos. 
> 
> Actually we have reached the end of the first part of the story.  
> So it would be great to hear what you think so far. What do you like? What don’t you like?  
> What or who do you want to see more of?  
> Any speculations what will happen next?
> 
> Next Chapter will be “Ellesmee”  
> And we will see all our heros on the Zi’daya home planet ;-)  
> As they try to find out more about Rhea and how to deal with their enemy.  
> It will be very interesting to meet both of Selene’s brother and her grandmother.  
> Oh, and Briseis mum! 
> 
> Stay safe and have a peaceful time!


	12. Ellesmee Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See an updated character list at the end of this chapter.

War is not a state of being. It is meant to be a temporary chaos between periods of peace.  
\- Senator Bail Organa  
“General Hux,” Armitage Hux kept his face carefully composed at the surprising sight that greeted him on the holoscreen in front of him. He had been informed just this morning that his regular meeting with Pryde had been turned into a session with the whole High Command in attendance. What he did not expect though was the presence of Kylo Ren. 

“There have been some unsettling news regarding an incident at a Zi’daya mining station that have reached us.”  
Although it seemed the Supreme Leader was content to let his Allegiant General do the talking, his expression bored, as he followed the proceedings with an absent look in his dark eyes. 

“Unsettling?” Hux’ let his voice reflect only genuine confusion, as he met Pryde’s cool gaze. “I fear Allegiant General, you will need to specify what exactly has been unsettling about those news. As I explained in the report, I sent to you yesterday, the proceedings on Venya station have been quite successful. We have dealt a blow to the enemy with minimal losses on our side. In the end, whatever technology they are using proved no match to our firepower. And the information we were able to gather should allow us to deal with the remaining threat in the next weeks. The Finalizer is currently on her way to Ellesmee planet in order to analyze the data and refill our supplies.” 

He had kept that report purposefully vague, leaving out any details that hinted at an involvement of the force.

Pryde’s pale blue eyes narrowed at his answer. “And the cases of possession?” 

“Possession?” Hux raised his eyebrow. “There have been a few cases of irrational behavior by the mining crew. It might have been a gas rendering them unable to differentiate between friend and foe or something similar. As I stated in the report, we will have to investigate further to get to the bottom of this.” 

Hux leaned forward a little, injecting a questioning tone into his voice. “I have to admit I am turning a little curious, as to the origin of your information, Allegiant General. Your source seems to be quite prone to exaggeration. One has to wonder why that might be the case.” The General let his gaze wander over the attending High Command. “However, I was not aware that it is First Order procedure now to give additional reports from unknown sources so much attention instead of following official reporting lines.” 

Notwithstanding, that they were most likely all spying on each other in one way or another, at least up front High Command had always followed proper hierarchy. He could see Bellada Parnadee and Actos Tosla exchange a look. It seemed no one was comfortable with having the going ones on their ships scrutinized too closely. 

“Or am I under internal investigation?” Hux asked in a deliberately unaffected voice, his eyes returning to Pryde. Sometimes just addressing a topic directly was the best way to surprise an opponent and find out more. Pryde did not answer immediately though, his face showing no outward emotion, but then he did play this game too long to be unsettled so easily. 

Instead, Kylo Ren sat up straighter, curiosity plain on his pale features for a moment. It was quite clear that whatever Pryde had planned for this meeting, he had not informed his Supreme Leader beforehand. Hux nearly shook his head at the dark-haired men’s inability to hide his emotions. Perhaps as ridiculous at it always appeared to him the mask had not been the worst choice after all. If not for the force, the fool would not last long in this company. And even with it he would not wager on the Supreme Leader’s survival for all that long. 

“We noticed that despite the Zi’daya clearly violating their agreement with the First Order by running a mining operation in our territory, you did not recommend any disciplinary measures against them in your report, General Hux. How very … lenient of you.” Griss commented, putting enough emphasize on the last sentence that the suspicion behind it was clear. 

Before Hux could react to the thinly veiled accusation, Quinn added with a suggestive laugh. “Your Co-Commander is quite the hot little thing. Would not be surprising, if you were tempted to look the other way to get into her good graces. Perhaps she even had some convincing arguments.”  
His fellow General licked his lips, a lewd expression in his blue eyes. “Stars know, I would not mind to have that mouth around my cock. “

Hux’ right hand balled into a fist, a nearly murderous rage rising up in him at that sadistic pervert even thinking of touching Selene.  
Bellada Parnadee made a disgusted sound, aversion visible on her dark features. “Really Domeric, can’t you at least try to appear like you have some class?” 

Her interruption allowed Hux to quickly school his features into indifference again. He could only hope his slip-up had not been noticed. 

But when he looked up, his eyes met Ren’s, the Supreme Leader’s dark gaze more than a little piercing. Hux was suddenly relieved that this was only a holo call. While he had been able to avoid Ren’s mind reading abilities in the past – thinking of the next day’s schedule in excruciating detail or reciting First Order regulations in his head mostly did the trick – he was not sure he would have been able to do so today. Ren tilted his head, something strange glittering in his expressive eyes. 

“That is quite enough.” The Supreme Leader’s deep voice caught everyone’s attention immediately, all eyes turning to him. “If I would have known you would only waste my time with your useless squabbling, I would not have attended this meeting.” There was clear annoyance on his face and the way his fellow Generals all squirmed like chastised children told Hux Ren’s displeasure was probably darkening the room. ”I don’t think anyone would ever accuse General Hux of all people of partiality for any enemy of the First Order or breaking First Order regulations.” Ren looked at Hux again, a smile playing around his lips. “I am sure you have your reasons for your recommendations, General?” 

Kriff, what had that been? He suspected Ren had actually realized he was hiding something. But why let him get away with it? 

“Of course, Supreme Leader.” The General’s answer was calm. “While it is true that the Zi’daya mining station was in First Order territory it was a small enterprise with only a mediocre yield. A few iron deposits.” He sincerely hoped Selene would appreciate him lying between his teeth for her. “However, it has put us in a position to put some pressure on the Zi’daya. I was able to negotiate a fleet wide delivery of their blasters in recompense.” 

He swiftly touched his datapad, sending out the technical data, he had asked Selene to provide him with this morning, to the whole High Command.  
“As you can see, they are far superior to the standard blasters we are using in the fleet at the moment.” 

While the members of High Command studied the data, Hux used the time to scutinize the Allegiant General. While Pryde had not interrupted the discussion so far, there was a slightly disgruntled expression in his pale blue eyes. Hux nearly smiled. He was quite sure this meeting was not proceeding, as the older man had planned. The way Quinn and Griss had questioned him had been a little too well orchestred to be a coincidence. 

“Are those specifications correct?” Admiral Tosla’s grey eyes held reluctant approval. “That would mean an increase of firepower of nearly 200%.” 

Hux let a slight smile rise to his lips. ”They are. I have seen the blasters in action myself. The Zi’daya will be able to supply the whole fleet in the next months, starting with the Finalizer…”

“No,” Pryde’s cold voice interrupted him harshly. “I want the Steadfast supplied first. Tell Sa’onserei, if she wants the First Order to forgive her transgression, she better makes sure my complete crew has those blasters at the end of next week.” 

Blast it, that was a definite tightening of the schedule he had discussed with Selene. He could only hope she would be able to follow through. Still, there was only one possible answer.  
“Of course, Allegiant General,” Hux inclined his head in acquiescence. 

“The Zi’daya technology seems quite impressive,” Kylo Ren interjected with renewed curiosity in his expression. “Have you noted anything else that could be to our advantage, General?” 

“They use a very advanced armor,” Hux answered slowly, more than a little uneasy at the Supreme Leader’s sudden interest in the Zidan system. “And their weapons systems are at least as good as they say. However, they are not cheap.” 

“Mmmh, perhaps it is time for the Zi’daya’s independence to end then.” Ren threw a pensive look at Pryde. “Why did we not discuss this earlier, Allegiant General?” 

Hux felt something like panic well up inside him. This was definitely not what he had intended. “I actually asked the same question before this mission, Supreme Leader. The Allegiant General had some compelling arguments against a military intervention. The current arrangement might be the most efficient way to get access to the Zi’daya technology without the risk of destroying the very industry we need.”  
The irony of him now arguing against a military occupation of the Zidan system was not lost on him. 

Anger flashed over Pryde’s face at Hux daring to get involved in the discussion between him and Ren, but he did not answer him directly, instead focusing on the Supreme Leader. ”I made the suggestion to install a permanent presence of the First Order at Ellesmee years ago. However, Supreme Leader Snoke was very adamant that we were to leave the Zi’daya completely alone. I expect he shared his reasons with you as his apprentice, Supreme Leader?” 

Hux had to suppress the surprise he felt at that information from showing on his face. What in the blazes of the galaxy could have prompted Snoke to get involved like that? And why make sure the Zi’daya remained untouched? 

“Of course he did,” while Ren’s words were curt, there was a distinct look of unease on his features for a moment that indicated he had no idea what had been Snoke’s reasons. He addressed Hux again. “Proceed with the mission as discussed, General. We will reevaluate the Zi’daya’s position after you have dealt with the current threat.” 

“Yes, Supreme Leader,” the General nodded, relief making him relax a little. At least they had some time now. The rest of the meeting proceeded without any more surprises, thank the stars. 

After signing out, he threw a look at his comms. Selene had sent him a message that they were ready for departure to Ellesmee. 

Making his way to the hangar, his mind was racing with the implications these newest developments had for his plans. While Pryde had not accused him of any infringement of First Order regulations directly, today’s meeting had been clearly planned as some kind of tribunal. And even if it seemed Pryde had no proof apart from Peavey’s reports this might have played out quite differently, if Ren had not interfered on his behalf. 

If he was not able to get his Co-Commander’s more direct support, he would find himself in a more than precarious position. 

Still, he had always suspected that Pryde did not plan to let him return from this mission so that was no news. What was more interesting though was the state of the relationship between Pryde and Ren. There had been a distinct feeling of discord between the two men during the meeting. Obviously, Pryde was moving against the Supreme Leader a lot sooner than they had anticipated.

Hux frowned, as a thought passed through his mind. It might be the wisest course of action to offer his support to Ren, until he was able to get rid of Pryde, the Allegiant General the more imminent threat. If he could stomach supporting Ren long enough.

He went through the members of High Command quickly. At least a third was firmly on Pryde’s side. Another third he would call allies, although he was not sure of all of them. The rest would follow the side, they thought would most likely be victorious in a confrontation. Now, how to convince those it was in their best interest to support him and not Pryde, who had surely been dangling promises in front of them for weeks now? 

As he entered his Command shuttle, his gaze immediately strayed to his Co-Commander. Today her fair hair was done up a lot more elaborately, as was her wont, gleaming pearls holding back two small braids from her face, while the rest of her locks fell in open waves over her shoulders, left bare by the flowing dark blue dress shot through with silver thread she was wearing. 

She had told him there was no way to keep his visit to Ellesmee from becoming an official affair and had clearly dressed the part of the Zi’daya heir. For a moment, he just drank in her sight, before she turned to him, obviously aware of his gaze. She gave him a slight smile and leaned into the shuttle’s cockpit, ordering the pilot to depart, now that the General had arrived. 

As the shuttle left the hangar, he accompanied her to the small private cabin at the rear of the ship. 

“And?” Selene asked. “How did it go?”  
When Hux gave her a short rundown of what had happened during the meeting the curiosity in her golden eyes was quickly replaced by worry. 

“Are you able to deliver to Pryde that quickly?” he inquired.  
She frowned. “Yes, if we postpone all other orders.”  
She stepped closer to him, absentmindedly rightening his General’s insignia, while clearly thinking. “It will be a close call though. And we won’t be able to supply you parallel.”

He shook his head. “That doesn’t matter. The most important thing is to get Pryde of our case for the time being.”

Selene’s eyes met his, their expression serious. “Speaking of time. How do you want to keep Pryde from finding out you lied to him after this mission, Armitage?”  
She touched his arm softly, concern burning in her eyes. “You are taking quite the risk for me.” 

Hux remembered the caring tone of her voice, when she had told him she did not want him to die. Well, time to find out how far he could get her to commit to his cause. 

“That depends, doesn’t it?” he answered her, letting a hint of concern creep on his own face. “I don’t think Pryde ever planned to let me survive this mission. And after what I heard today, I suspect we might have a shared interest in making sure neither Ren nor Pryde remain in control of the First Order.” 

Selene scrutinized him, an amused expression on her features. “And I suppose you already have somebody else in mind for the job?” 

“I might.” Hux’ one hand went up slowly, letting one of her braids twirl around his fingers, while the other glided around her slim waist, pulling her closer to him. “Someone, who is a lot more appreciating of the Zidan system’s various charms.” 

His Co-Commander laughed with a very cheeky expression on her face. “Now General, if I did not know better, I would think you are starting to get compromised by those charms.”  
She leaned into him, her own hand wandering to his nape, nimble fingers playing with his hair. “And that plan of your’s probably includes regular visits to Ellesmee to investigate, if we remain firmly in line?” 

The comment made Hux blink for a moment. Was she actually insinuating they could continue their little affair, after this starforsaken mission was over? While that was probably not politically advisable and Opan would chastise him for even contemplating it, he could not help the thrill going through him at the thought. How often could he visit the Zidan system before it became suspicious, he wondered. A few times a year? Every few weeks?

Against his better judgement, he felt a playful smile tugging on his lips. “Definitely,” he murmured, his mouth only a breath away from hers. “I fear I will have to investigate that personally … and very very thouroughly.” His hand on her waist dipped a lot lower on her back, pulling her against him, as he kissed her deeply, the sweet taste of her enveloping all his senses. 

When she melted against him, sighing softly into his mouth, he felt a sliver of something that felt strangely like guilt go through him. He was using the fact that she cared for him to get her more firmly on his side. But then he would make it up to her, after he got rid of Ren and Pryde, so there was no harm in it, was it?

After kissing him back passionately for a few minutes, Selene sighed again, her tone quite different. She disengaged her lips from his and looked up at him, tilting her head. “As tempting as that offer might be, I fear I will need this alliance to be a little more official and permanent.”  
Even with her cheeks flushed and her breath shallow, her eyes held a calculating gleam. 

“What?” Hux gave her a wide-eyed look. He could only imagine one way to make an alliance between them permanent, but that was surely not what she meant, wasn’t it?

She raised up on her toes then, her lips trailing along his ear, making him shudder. “You don’t really expect me to give up our independence for some promises and a few romps between the sheets.” Her teeth grazed his earlobe, a hiss escaping him at the sensation. “As pleasurable as this has been so far, I am not a fool. If you want me to deliver any more weapons to you, I want something in return. As you said yesterday, that is how it works.” 

Hux stared at her. It seemed he had underestimated her again. But instead of disappointment at her not giving in so easily he felt his heartbeat quicken at the thought of trying to win her over, his desire for her only increasing. He enjoyed those little games between them a lot more than he probably should. “What do you want, Selene?”

“An airtight guarantee of independence from the First Order for the Zidan system and a non-aggression treaty.”  
Oh, that was what she was really after. 

Now it was he, who could not suppress a sigh. “I can’t afford preferential treatment like that.”

She scoffed. “Afraid what your little friends at High Command might think?”  
Hux narrowed his eyes at her, “Since I need their support it might be inadvisable to let them think I cater to your every whim, yes.” 

At the disappointed look in her eyes, he amended his statement a little. “At least officially this would be easier, if the Order had a base in the Zidan system. I would go very light on any taxes though.” 

The Zi’daya heir raised an eyebrow, her voice sarcastic. “And I would need to trust you on that. You could stab me in the back any time you want.” 

“Yes,” he met her eyes coolly. ”As you could now with Ren and Pryde.”  
That made her pause, her eyes turning a lot softer again, clear indecision flashing through them. Trying to drive his advantage home, he drew her against him again. “Think about it.” She gasped, when she felt how their little discussion had already affected him. “I would gladly provide you with a few more arguments in my favor.”  
Desire wildly flashed through Selene’s eyes, but she took a very deep breath and shook her head. “I fear we will have to postpone that to later. It can’t be far to Ellesmee anymore.”

Letting go of her reluctantly, Hux nodded slowly. She was right of course. He breathed in deeply himself, fighting to get his heartrate back under control. “Then only one open point remains. Do you have any idea, why Snoke was so adamant that the Order leaves the Zi’daya alone?” 

Selene put a finger to her lips in thought. “Only a theory,” she answered after a while. “You said he had the appearance of someone, who had been gravely wounded in battle. If Rhea and the Jedi were responsible for that it might have been fear.” She shrugged. “If I was nearly immortal and somebody came close to killing me that would surely leave a mark. He might have wanted to make very sure that we are no threat any more before attacking us.”

“Mmmh, but that would mean your ancestor was involved directly somehow in defeating this enemy the first time.” Hux gave Selene a contemplative look. “You are very sure there isn’t some kind of heredity…”

“Some kind of heredity manual ‘How to kill off evil force users in three easy steps?’” his Co-Commander frowned. “I have to disappoint you. Rhea left nothing of that kind. Only a lot of advice that we are all connected throughout the galaxy and should follow the guidance of the stars. Not really helpful in this case.” She looked at him with a serious expression on her face. ”But I agree with you, we definitely need to find out more about her past. There has to be something.” 

He sincerely hoped there was, because if not, it left them at a disconcerting disadvantage. And asking Pryde or Ren for help was not really an option. 

Following Selene through the shuttle’s main space, he nodded to Opan and Mitaka, who were in conversation with Selene’s aide and her second in command. Apart from them they were only accompanied by one squad of stormtroopers, since he did not want to give the impression this was in any way an aggressive military visit. 

As they stepped into the shuttle’s cockpit, Hux felt surprise followed by slight annoyance well up in him. “Captain Trach, I was not aware you are also a shuttle pilot now,” he commented snidely, levelling a disapproving glare at the Galatean captain. Blonde Major Shi’seko, who had been standing next to the captain’s pilot seat, obviously pointing out some landmarks, as they were entering Ellesmee’s atmosphere, straightened up quickly with a guilty expression on her face, her hand falling away from his arm. 

Trach did not seem all that concerned by his superior’s anger, though. “You know I am a man of many talents, sir.” The smug smile he shot at the major at those words, could have been cause for a demerit alone in Hux’ opinion. “I have not found a ship yet I can’t fly.” 

“And who will command the Finalizer’s TIEs, if we are attacked while you traipse around planetside?” 

Trach did not let the criticism deter him, as he stabilized the ship, flying over densely forested hills underneath them. “I thought you would want your best pilot to bring you back to the ship as quickly as possible in that case, sir.”

“The best? That remains to be seen.” The General narrowed his eyes at his insolent captain. “I hear Captain Fallon is already missing your competence in the sanitation department, though.”  
Stars, did his whole crew just did what they want for their own amusement now?

“Ouch,” he jumped at a sudden pain at his backside. Selene moved past him on her way to the viewport. Had she honestly just pinched him? The suspiciously innocent look on her face seemed to indicate it.

“Look, we are nearly there,” she exclaimed with excitement showing on her face. It made Hux gaze out of the viewport as well, just in time to see a big river underneath them cascading down a dramatic cliffside. Trach let the shuttle dive along the rivers flow, a sweeping sensation going through the General’s stomach at the movement of the ship. “This is not a TIE-Fighter, Captain,” he could not help criticize the maneuver. 

But then his eyes were caught by the view before him. After the waterfall, the river opened up into a valley. And in that valley lay Ellesmee. 

The city sprawled as far as he could see, reaching to the white-sanded shores of Ellesmee bay visible in the distance. White houses were clustered around red and gold leafed trees, their architecture unobtrusive but elegant. Any of those trees would have been impressive, if it was not for the giant in the middle of the town that dwarfed them all. Hux felt reluctant awe rise up in him as he stared at the huge tree with its magnificent canopy. A building was nestled in its branches so cleverly that it looked like part of the tree. That must be the Zi’daya palace.

Somehow, he had always thought Ellesmee to be similar to Naboo, all soft colors, extravagant buildings and well-appointed gardens. But the beauty of the Zi’daya capitol was quite different, something wild and untamed to it. While he had never liked Naboo, something about it too artificial for his tastes, he felt surprisingly touched by Ellesmee’s charms.  
His eyes fell on his Co-Commander. Or perhaps not so surprising after all. 

Selene’s golden eyes met his, a proud gleam in them, as she took in his reaction. “Welcome to Ellesmee, General Hux.” 

Two hours later Hux found himself in one of the spacious guest quarters in the Zi’daya palace getting ready for dinner. The wooden walls of the room gave it a cozy feeling, a small balcony allowing a spectacular view over the city below. 

After depositing them at the palace’s small hangar at the foot of the tree, Selene had actually left them to her grandmother’s aide, a competent woman in her fifties, who had shown them to their rooms, citing the need to inform the families of her deceased crewmembers personally of their passing. 

The Zi’daya aide had told the General he and his soldiers were invited to the official dinner this evening. All of his soldiers, she had stressed, although the Shue would really appreciate it, if there was no armor worn in her dining room. Hux had not seen any alternative to agreeing to the stipulation not wanting to insult his hosts on the first evening. Whatever his Co-Commander thought, he was not completely oblivious to the rules of civilized society.

Still, he felt the first stirrings of annoyance, when he left his room to find AN-3478 and his squad dressed just in the plain stormtrooper black next to Opan, Mitaka and Trach in their officer’s uniforms. He began to suspect, where Selene got her kriffing ability to make other people subvert the rules from.

Opan fell into step next to him, as they followed the Zi’daya aide to the dining room. “You will have to be careful tonight,” his Informations officer murmured under his breath. “Oilena noe Sa’onserei has a reputation for seeing through people easily and using their weaknesses against them.” The blue-eyed captain’s lip twitched. “And she loves to say what she thinks without any care for propriety.” 

Hux nodded curtly. He had to admit he was more than a little curious to meet Selene’s formidable grandmother. Although Opan was right to caution him. It would be very foolish indeed to let the Zi’daya leader know, how susceptible he was to her granddaughter’s charms.  
If Selene’s interest in him was not calculated after all. Even now, he could not completely silence the doubts about their arrangement flashing through his head. 

“Now that is what I call an eye opener,” Trach commented, when they entered the huge dining room, one side of the room a complete glass front that allowed an even more impressive view of the city than his balcony. The sun had set by now, the first lights beginning to glitter down below. 

“And kriffing expensive, as you can imagine,” a melodious voice, tinged with amusement greeted them. “My father had it installed decades ago to impress foreign dignitaries. Getting the glass panel up here was a logistical nightmare. I am sure he would be ecstatic that it works.” 

Taking in their Zi’daya host, Hux saw immediately from which side of the family Selene got her beauty. Oilena’s resemblance to her granddaughter was nearly uncanny, although the older woman’s features were sharper and showed the signs of age around her eyes and mouth. Her golden eyes twinkled with the same bright intelligence he was used to, though. More than a physical resemblance then. 

“Shue,” bowing his head, he took one of her hands and raised it to his lips, the respectful gesture coming to him instinctually. “Thank you for your hospitality.” 

“Oh, we are thrilled to have you here, General Hux.” Distinct amusement appeared on the Shue’s face. “And thank you for humoring my request. In my old age I find myself so easily disconcerted by the outward drapings of war.” 

Hux did not really believe anything ever disconcerted Oilena noe Sa’onserei, but he could not shake the feeling this had been some sort of test. The question was, what his acquiescence had told her. 

He quickly introduced his officer’s, stopping afterwards, unsure how to proceed. He could hardly call the troopers only by their designation, could he? A twinkle in her eyes telling him that Oilena was quite aware of his predicament, she did not comment, but instead greeted everyone graciously. 

She then pointed to a slim young man to her right, whose fair hair was kept away from his face in a tight bun at the back of his head. It was a little strange to see Selene’s familiar features mirrored on a male face, even if the gold of her brother’s eyes held nothing of her warmth.  
“My grandchildren. Tayshen.” The Shue turned to the young couple on her other side. “And Deacon with his wife Melody.” 

Selene’s oldest brother seemed to come after the other half of the family, his build a lot more stocky than his siblings, his hair a darker blonde and his eyes a warm brown instead of the distinctive gold. His dark-haired wife leaned on his arm heavily, very obviously quite far along in her pregnancy. 

After Hux greeted the Sa’onserei brothers, Oilena’s eyes turned shrewd, as she indicated the last remaining occupants in the room. “And of course our dear guests, Melody’s parents, Senator Tolney Quell and his lady wife Evanna.” 

Senator Quell. Well that explained, why the lean grey-haired man and his richly dressed wife had thrown angry glares at Hux and his men, since the moment they had entered the room.  
Obviously, he was one of those senators who had been lucky enough not to be in the Hosnian system, when he had destroyed it. According to the intelligence reports more members of the senate had escaped than one would have thought. 

“Senator, Lady Evanna,” Hux murmured with a nod. He was quite aware anything he said now would only make the situation more awkward. 

The Senator looked through him, as if he was not even there, focusing his disgruntled gaze on Oilena instead. Lady Evanna stared at him down her pointy nose, as if he was a particular disgusting bug she had found on the floor, though.  
“It might have been prudent to inform us of tonight’s guest list beforehand, Oilena.” Senator Quell complained. 

“Oh, I must have forgotten it.” Oilena shrugged elegantly, her dark green dress flowing around her, as she led the way to the table. “But this is neutral ground. I am sure we can all put aside our difference for one evening and have a delightful dinner.” Sitting down at the table, she kept her gaze focused on Hux, who sat down opposite her, clearly interested in his reaction. Annoyance rising up in him at this obvious attempt to unsettle him, the General nonetheless summoned up another polite smile.  
“Of course.”

When everyone was seated and the first course was being served, Hux realized that Selene was still missing. Oilena tilted her head at him, having caught his searching gaze. “Don’t worry General, Selene is just held up in the city for a while longer. She will shortly return to your side.” 

Hux tried to keep the expression on his face carefully composed, his thoughts racing. That had been quite a curious choice of words. Had Selene actually told her grandmother that something had happened between them?

Despite the disapproving presence of the senator and his wife at one end of the table, the conversation flowed quite easily, mostly due to the fact that Miss Brentiss and Major Shi’seko had also joined them. Selene’s brothers seemed to share her ability to connect to people quickly, talking with his stormtroopers and his officers animatedly. Even Hux could not suppress a slight amusement at the wide-eyed way some of the troopers stared at the luxurious setting of the table, AN-3478 murmuring under his breath what part of the cutlery to use every now and then. 

The older Sa’onserei’s wife remained silent, only turning to Major Shi’seko a few times, but Hux could honestly not really blame her for it. She probably had family and friends in the Hosnian system. 

“Where is Shima, Briseis dear?” Oilena inquired from the blonde Zi’daya after a while.  
“He asked to be excused tonight. He wants to see his daughter after being away on the mission so long.” The Shue gave out a dry laugh, sipping on her wine. “More likely he wanted to see his wife after so many weeks in a lonely bed, the little girl will be fast asleep at this time.” 

“Now, General Hux,” Deacon y Sa’onserei’s brown eyes held a certain gleam, as he addressed him. “We are all more than a little curious how working together with my sister is turning out.”  
Hux looked up from his plate, contemplating how to answer without rising any suspicions. “Commander Sa’onserei is a very competent young woman and an asset for the mission so far. We are working together quite efficiently in my opinion.” 

“Sure,” Sa’onserei glanced at his brother for a second, before starting to laugh quite loudly. The younger brother’s eyes held a lot of reluctant amusement as well. 

Hux raked his brain in what way he had betrayed himself with that answer. That had been completely inconspicuous, hadn’t it been? He felt a flush on his cheeks. 

“Excuse our amusement, General,” Oilena chuckled slightly as well. “It is only that as her family we know Selene very well.” Her golden eyes turned piercing, as she concentrated completely on him. “And efficient and competent is not the assessment we would have expected from a man like you. We are quite aware she has a problem with following the rules,” she smiled. “Don’t worry, we are among ourselves. You can be honest with us.” 

Her words made someone, probably Senator Quell, scoff in derision, but Hux could not glance over, completely caught by her gaze. He felt a strange nervousness in his stomach and could not help a slight hesitation, as he tried to formulate an answer.  
“While there have been a few cases of differing opinions in the beginning, our relationship is quite …mmh…amicable now.” 

Oh stars, that had sounded more like a question than a statement. And why did he use the word relationship?

“Amicable?” The Shue repeated slowly, as if she wanted to find out the meaning behind the word. Her smile reminded him uncomfortably of a feline on the prowl. 

The General cleared his throat. “Yes, I have definitely come to value her skills.” Blast it, he was making it worse with every word he added. “As my Co-Commander.” Knowing that it was the last thing he should think about, while sitting at the same table as her family, his kriffing mind choose to remind him of Selene’s other skills he valued quite a bit. He felt heat return to his face, as he remembered that time in his office, when she had gone down on him. 

The Zi’daya leader’s smile deepened even more. “That is good to hear,” she commented smoothly, swirling the wine in her glass, before taking a sip, her eyes still not leaving him. This was turning out to be a lot more challenging than the questioning by High Command earlier today. 

Fortunately, he was saved then by Deacon y Sa’onserei exclaiming jovially, “Ah, there she is,” making everyone at the table look over to the entrance of the room to see his Co-Commander entering. The way her eyes narrowed in annoyed surprise at the sight of Senator Quell and his wife, told him she had not known, what her grandmother was planning in advance. 

“You are arriving at the perfect moment, sister. The main course will be served shortly.” The older Sa’onserei brother grinned openly, as Selene sat down on an empty chair at the middle of the table. ”And General Hux was just regaling us with praise of your competence.” 

“Yes, imagine our surprise,” Tayshen y Sa’onserei added, his eyes cool, as he regarded his sister. “Who would have thought you to develop a sudden liking for the military?” 

Hux half expected her to fire back with a quip immediately, but instead she blinked at her brothers a little wide-eyed. “I…” Her eyes slid to him and she bit her lip. “I am professional enough to work together with different people to achieve a common goal, yes thank you.”  
Kriff, that had not been all that smooth. 

“Perhaps you should leave your damp lab more often, Tay,” Major Shi’seko’s clear voice was teasing. “Just ordering your little assistants around is not what one would call working together productively.” 

Sa’onserei raised an elegant eyebrow, as he turned to her. “And how do you find working together with the First Order, Brie?”  
There was a glint in the Major’s eyes, as she looked over at Captain Trach. “Surprisingly stimulating.” A sassy smile appeared on her lips. “I learned many new things about flight maneuvers thanks to Captain Trach.”  
The way the Captain smiled back at her was definitely not professional. “I will gladly demonstrate any maneuver you like to you, Major.” 

That made the Sa’onserei brothers stare at the blonde Zi’daya and the First Order Captain, their attention clearly off Selene and him.  
Who would have thought Hux would be grateful to Trach for flirting outrageously in public one day? 

When he caught a swift glance from Shi’seko to Selene the General realized the diversion had been deliberate. It seemed his Co-Commander could really count on her friends to have her back in every situation. 

“Mmh,” the Shue politely thanked one of her staff, who had placed the next course in front of her, before turning to Hux again. “I have to say I am a little gross with your High Command, General. Why did we have to deal with Pryde all those years? If I had to listen to that boring First Order propaganda all the time, I would at least have preferred to have something nice to look at.” 

He could only stare at her for a moment, at a complete loss what to say.  
“Or what do you think, Selene?” 

Selene narrowed her eyes at the piece of meat on her plate, clearly not amused by her grandmother’s antics. “I could not say. I was too busy with that really important mission to protect our people to notice something like that,” she ground out. 

“Ts,” her grandmother made a disbelieving sound. “The only excuse to not notice so many good looking men right in front of you would be, if you were blind or dead.”

“As I said, I was a little preoccupied with trying to survive,” the tone of Selene’s voice had turned glacial. 

“Well, that is entirely your own fault then. You should have let those nice gentlemen take care of that part of the mission. Shooting at things and making them explode is what men are there for, darling.” The Shue was very obviously immune against her granddaughter’s glare. “Well besides other things of course.” She wiggled her eyebrow suggestively.  
“I keep telling you there is more to life than work. No wonder you are still single. You are not getting younger, my dear.”  
For a moment Hux feared for Selene’s wine glass, as she grabbed it tightly, clearly incensed. 

Her grandmother’s eyes slid back to him. “What are your thoughts on the topic, General? You are still unmarried as well, aren’t you?”

He was thinking that the enigmatic Zi’daya leader knew exactly what was going on between him and her granddaughter and was having her fun with them. Or she was only suspecting and trying to get a rise out of them. Whatever was true, it was quite obvious that Selene had not told her about it, clearly uncomfortable with her family’s curiosity. 

“I always found it commendable to put one’s duty before any personal interests,” he answered carefully. Before the Shue could comment on that, the cheerful voice of ZN-7785 interrupted. “Surely any man in the galaxy would be glad to have you, Commander.” The blonde stormtrooper’s blue eyes held the excitement of a young puppy, as he beamed at Selene. 

“Thank you, Pip, you are very kind,” his Co-Commander’s smile back at the trooper held genuine warmth.  
“Oh yes, surely every man would be,” the Shue’s golden eyes nearly glowed, as she continued to scrutinize the General. 

There was a loud clang at the end of the table, as Senator Quell put down his cutlery harshly, the look on his face that of a man at the end of his patience. “Do you really expect us to sit here and listen to you catering to those murderers?” the way he slurred his speech indicated that a few glasses of wine too many had done their part as well in making him lose his temper. 

“Hey, who are you calling a murderer?” there was real indignation in ZN-7785’s voice. “We are soldiers of the First Order. It isn’t our fault that the Republic…”  
“Pip!” AN-3478 tone was sharp, as he tried to reign in the young trooper.  
Senator Quell laughed mirthlessly. “Oh spare me, boy. I am quite aware of the nonsense the Order brainwashes you with. I don’t even blame you for it, your kind obviously lacks the necessary capacity to know better.” 

Before Hux could decide to intervene, his Co-Commander had leaned forward, anger blazing in her eyes, as she rounded on the senator. “Your kind? And what kind would that be, Senator? Not one of your privileged little circle that decides who is worth anything in this galaxy and who not, I guess.”  
The Senator sneered at her, shaking off his wife’s cautioning hand on his arm. “You definitely have no reason to pretend you have the moral high ground anymore, my dear. Tell me, is your grandmother only whoring out your weapons to the First Order or did you threw in a little personal attention for good measure as well?”

“Father!” Melody Quell’s shocked exclamation fell into the sudden silence in the room.  
White-hot fury burned through Hux so violently that he reacted without thinking. “I do hope for your sake, Senator, that you did not just call her a whore.”  
The icy tone of his voice achieved what nothing else had so far, making the Senator visibly shrink back under his piercing gaze. Avoiding anyone’s eyes he got up, pulling his wife with him. “Come Evanna,” he said, as they left the room. ”The stink of blood in the air is souring my appetite.” 

“Well, what course is next? Ah, chocolate mousse, my favorite.” Oilena noe Sa’onserei did not seem in the least perturbed by the scene that had just taken place on her table. “Quell should have held back a little longer. You should never let your morals get in the way of a good dessert.”  
“One has to note, that they did not keep him from enjoying the wine.” Opan remarked dryly, earning him an amused chuckle from the Shue. 

“I am so sorry,“ Melody Quell’s dark eyes were full of remorse, as she turned to Selene. “It wasn’t your fault, Mel,” the other woman gave her sister in law a reassuring smile, before focusing on her grandmother, her eyes showing more than a hint of reproach.  
The pregnant woman got up, signaling to her husband to remain seated. “I should probably go after them.” 

After she had gone from the room, Selene asked coldly. “Are you happy now, grandmother? Was that really necessary?”

The Zi’daya leader remained calm. “Believe me, I fulfilled my quota of charity towards this man months ago. Everything since then has only been my unending patience. And that is running out quickly now. How those two people have been able to raise such a pleasant young woman as your sister in law will always remain a mystery to me. You do have my fullest sympathy, Deacon darling.”

The older Sa’onserei brother looked at her, all traces of joviality swept from his face, a sudden hardness in those brown eyes. “I would prefer, if you left my wife out of your little games though, grandmother. Especially in her condition.”

The Shue licked of some chocolate mousse of her spoon, briefly closing her eyes. “It is not my fault, that your wife is nearly constantly pregnant since you married her, darling. Besides, she is made of much hardier stuff than you give her credit for. She is quite able to put her personal feelings aside for political necessities.”

Tayshen y Sa’onserei raised an eyebrow at his grandmother, his tone more than a little chastising. “Perhaps it is time for some more aprobiate topics? We have guests after all.”

“Ts, propriety is grossly overrated.” The Shue scoffed, her face suddenly loosening all the playfulness from before. She levelled her intense gaze on Hux again. “Tell me, General, do you make sure decency is maintained, when you destroy a planet in the name of the First Order?” 

As he took in the cool look in her eyes, Hux suspected that was the first time this evening he got a glimpse of the real Oilena noe Sa’onserei. Not looking away, he answered her calmly.  
“In my experience decency is the first casualty in every war.”

Surprise flashed through her eyes at his words. He was a little surprised himself at the nearly weary tone of his voice. 

“Mmh,” the Shue murmured, a pensive look in her eyes. “You are not quite, what I expected General Hux. Not at all.” 

After that comment, the conversation at the table resumed without any more incidents, although a certain tension remained in the air. 

When dinner was concluded, the Shue smiled quite brilliantly “Now, that has been a most illuminating evening.” She turned to her granddaughter. “Selene dear, if you would be so kind to show our guests back to their rooms? There will be enough time for business tomorrow.”  
His Co-Commander’s face stayed carefully blank, as she nodded in agreement. “Of course, grandmother.” 

Hux was not really surprised, when she politely but efficiently escorted his crew to their respective rooms, leaving his for last and following him inside.  
“Is that wise?” he commented, as she went to the balcony, obviously deep in thought. She shrugged. “I can always say, we had something mission related to discuss.” 

“Still, your grandmother seemed to have realized…” 

“She doesn’t know.” Selene shook her head, but unease flashed in her eyes for a moment, indicating that she was not as sure of that assessment as her words indicated. “She was just fishing. And not very subtly.”  
She rubbed her temple for a moment. “I am sorry. That was not how I thought this evening would proceed.” 

“Your grandmother is a formidable woman.” Hux stepped behind her, letting his hands glide over her shoulders, applying a little pressure, when he noticed how tense she was. “And I am not surprised that she wanted to test me a little.”  
“Mmmh, that is nice,” Selene hummed, leaning into his touch.  
“How was your visit to the city?” he asked, softly kneading the hardened muscles at her nape. She sighed. “As sad, as I feared. Hector’s mother is a widow and he was her only child. It hit her hard.” Selene let her head fall back against him and glanced up at him. “I would really appreciate it, if you could take my mind off things for a while.” 

Hux hesitated for a second, before starting to open the zipper on her back. This evening had shown him that Oilena noe Sa’onserei was indeed a dangerous ally …or enemy and not to be underestimated. It would probably be wise to remember that she had practically raised the beautiful woman in front of him. 

All thoughts of politics flew out of his head though, as Selene let her dress glide over her hips to the floor and swiftly opened the bra she wore underneath. The sight of her bare breasts made him breathe in deeply and he was not able to keep himself from reaching for her. Only a black bacta patch on her collarbone remained of the wound she had sustained two days ago. 

Cupping one firm breast in his hand, he marveled at the way its full weight filled his hand completely. “Those are the most perfect breasts in the galaxy,” he stated reverently. Selene looked at him with an amused smile on her lips. “Really? Did you make a galaxy wide comparison?” 

Hux teased one of her rose-colored nipples with his thumb, making it harden under his touch and her eyes close with another sigh. “I don’t need too. I know perfection, when I see it.”

Bending down to let his lips whisper over her skin, he relished in every shuddering breath she took. 

After indulging into his fascination for her breasts for a while, he let his hand wander over the soft slope of her stomach to slowly slide between her legs. He could not help a groan escaping him at the definite proof of her arousal he already found there. Selene moaned softly, when he entered her wet warmth with one finger, her hands clutching at his shoulder. “Oh stars, yes.” 

“Have you been thinking of this during dinner?” Hux murmured into her ear, adding a second finger, making her squirm against him. She smiled at him, her eyes blazing. “More like the whole day.” She wiggled her hips, helping him drag down her panties. 

For a moment, he just stared at her, something heady about the way she was naked and willing before him, while he was still completely dressed. But then his own need became too insistent to longer ignore and he swiftly picked her up, carrying her to the wide bed in the middle of the room. 

When he deposited her on top of the sheets, she lounged on the bed temptingly, spreading her legs without any shame. He had realized by now that none of his previous partners in bed had been nearly as self-assured as Selene in her wants and needs. It was incredibly arousing.  
“Get out of those clothes,” she ordered impatiently. 

Hux hesitated again, the room far too brightly lit for his preferences. He knew it was foolish, but his father’s remarks about him as a boy – thin as a paper slip – had remained in his head and his partner’s beauty only made his insecurities worse. Furthermore, he had no inclination to explain the scars on his back to her tonight. During all their previous encounters his undershirt had stayed on, preventing any questions, thankfully.

“Could we dim the lights?” he muttered, a little concerned that she would ask why. But while slight curiosity flashed through her expressive eyes for a moment, she just uttered a command in Zi’daya that made the room darken considerably, before starting to open the buttons of his uniform. 

The way her touch roamed over his skin tenderly, as she undressed him, clear appreciation on her face, considerably soothed his unease, though. He only stopped her wandering hands, when she reached for his hard length. “Careful,” he muttered, leaning over her on the bed. ”Or this might end sooner than we want.”  
Hunger blazed through Selene’s golden eyes, as she wrapped her legs around his hips, pulling him closer. She gasped softly, when he entered her, a languid smile playing around her lips. “Oh finally, it has been much too long.” 

That drove an amused laugh from Hux. “Yes, like two days?” She grinned up at him and clenched around him, making him groan. “Mmmh really? It felt longer, though.” Her hips moved against his, pleasure rushing through him violently. 

“Stars, this feels so good,” there was a slightly desperate tone to her voice, as he thrust inside her, making him look down at her face. “Please don’t stop, Armitage,” she begged him, her hands burying in his hair. “Don’t ever, ever stop.” Those words and the nearly piercing need on her features that accompanied them, should have made him pause.  
Instead, he whispered “Never” against her lips again and again, kissing her wildly, part of it a promise, part a confession, as he lost himself in her warmth.

Oh, this was the most comfortable she had felt in a long time, Selene thought, snuggling deeper into the sheets, her partners body a reassuring warmth against her. She just wanted to stay like that forever. 

Kriff, alarm went through her suddenly. They had obviously both fallen asleep after a vigorous bout of lovemaking.  
And while she could have explained away an hour or two in her Co-Commander’s quarters, slinking away in the morning was definitely not an option. Not with her grandmother and her brothers already suspicious about them. 

The way she had tensed up next to him seemed to unconsciously reach Hux, because he suddenly moved against her with a noise of discomfort, one arm drawing her closer again. 

“Armitage,” she murmured a little reproach in her voice. “We have fallen asleep.”  
His long fingered hand splayed over her stomach, the heat of his body nearly burning against her skin. “And? You can just stay here.”

“No, I can’t.” She sighed, more than a little distracted by the way he buried his nose against her hair. “Somebody might see me.” 

He sighed as well, a shiver going through her at the sensation of his breath ghosting along her neck. “Just a little bit longer.” That hand glided up and cupped her breast, making her breath hitch. “I will make it worth your while.”  
Selene tried to hold on to her resolve, but the way those elegant fingers played over her skin made it nearly impossible. “Fine,” she murmured. “But I really have to go afterwards.” 

Hux hummed against her hair in approval, his hand wandering over her stomach to dip between her thighs. Soon all thought of leaving had been swept from her mind, waves of pleasure going through her at his touch. There was something languid and unhurried about this, quite different to the previous times they had sex. 

Time lost all meaning, as she drowned completely in the exquisite feelings he ignited in her body. When she felt his hardness against her backside, her own need sharpened as well though, making her squirm against him. It drove a groan from his lips, the slide of his fingers becoming more rhythmic. “More?” he asked and she moaned in answer, eager to have him inside her again. 

The feeling of him filling her completely, his body still hot against her back, his lips touching her neck, made her realize he had been right. One knew perfection, when one encountered it.  
She wished they could stay like this forever, without any care for what happened outside this room or outside this bed. 

Selene’s fingers grabbed the sheets, as he moved inside her, still in that unhurried pace, that made waves of pleasure go through her endlessly, until they finally crested, her climax making her shudder against him. With a few hard thrusts, Hux finished as well, his teeth grazing the skin of her neck in a slight bite. 

It took her more attempts than she liked to admit to tear herself away from his warmth, but she somehow managed to slide to the edge of the bed.  
When she looked back at him, she saw he had already fallen asleep again and she wondered, if he had even really opened his eyes, while he made love to her. 

His face was completely relaxed for once and her hand moved without any conscious thought on her part, softly stroking his red hair. Her touch made his lips tug up in a slight smile even in sleep, the expression so sweet it made her heart clench. 

She was slipping up, she realized. They both were.  
And what was worse other people were starting to notice. 

The thought made her get up and grab her clothes, dressing swiftly, her thoughts in turmoil now that the afterglow was over.  
Despite it, she could not help one glance back at him, as she left through the door, nor thinking that she would have preferred to stay with him. 

As she walked through the dimly lit halls of the palace, her mind raced. While she had not commented about it earlier, it had been clear from the moment she had entered the dining room today, that her grandmother and perhaps even her brothers suspected that her relationship to the General was not completely professional. 

Since she had barely talked with her family until then, it must have been he, who let something slip. Knowing how perceptive Oilena was, it might not have been something big, mayhap an expression on his face, when she was mentioned. She should have probably warned him beforehand, but then she had assumed he was quite able to hide his feelings behind an impenetrable mask.

He was, something whispered inside her, before you. 

Selene fully expected her grandmother to confront her about this eventually. And she was at a complete loss how to explain her relationship to her Co-Commander to anyone. After all, she was completely torn herself. 

Her thoughts turned to the offer he made to her after his conversation with High Command. Even if it clearly had been quite the concession from his point of view, unfortunately it was not enough for her. 

Because, while she agreed getting rid of Pryde and Ren was necessary, there was no way she would ever agree to let the First Order rule, whoever commanded it. Neither Ellesmee nor the Galaxy.

If she had been a different sort of woman, she might have gone for it, might have even played for a more official place at his side, trying to use her influence on him to reach her goals. Empress Selene did have a certain ring to it, after all. 

However, there were lines she would not cross and part of her balked at the thought of being completely dependent on his attention, vying for his approval.  
She even had the feeling that he might resent her after a while, if she agreed. A lot of the attraction between them hinged on the fact that they had always met as equals.  
She would not become his plaything. 

Nevertheless, she felt tempted a lot more than she should. 

Reaching the door to her rooms without meeting anyone, Selene silently thanked the ancestor that was responsible for placing the guest quarters so close to the rooms of the ruling family. 

When she entered the room, she stopped immediately at the sight that greeted her, something akin to horror flashing through her.  
Her brother was lounging on her bed. 

Tay’s eyes slowly slid from the small metal ball he had been throwing up in boredom to her.  
“Sister.”  
She had not known one single word could hold so much repressed anger. 

“Tayshen,” she answered, her face carefully composed. “Has something happened? You are visiting me in the middle of the night.” 

He got up swiftly, his expression incredulous. “I” those golden eyes, that looked so much like her own narrowed at her dangerously, “have been waiting for you for four kriffing hours.” 

Selene’s heartbeat sped up painfully in panic. Kriff, what kind of excuse to use.  
“Sorry, I did not know you were here.” She said, still trying to appear calm. “I was held up by some mission related topics.” 

“Oh, really?” Her brother scoffed and crossed his arms, making the dark red shirt he was wearing rise up slightly. “One word of advice, before trying to sell me that bantha crap as an excuse, you should have taken care of that love bite on your neck.” 

Selene hectically looked into the floor length mirror on one wall of her room, her hand going to her neck. The skin there was completely smooth, not a single mark in sight. 

And she had just fallen for the oldest trick in the book.

Throwing an annoyed glare at her brother, she decided to change tactics. “Frankly, it is none of your business how and with whom I spend my nights, Tay.” She raised one eyebrow. “It is not, as if I have ever questioned you about your lovers.” 

He stared at her. “Perhaps, because even I would never do something that stupid.” A pleading tone creeped into his voice. “Please tell me I am just paranoid and you are actually fucking one of those little stormtroopers.” He gave a slightly hysterically laugh. “Stars, at this point I would even take you having a threesome with Brie and Captain Trach.” 

Selene took a deep breath. “Listen, I know I might have crossed a line.” 

“That is not crossing a line.” The disappointment in her brother’s eyes hid her harder, than she would have thought possible. “You sleeping with Armitage Hux? That is smashing it to pieces, pouring gasoline over the wreckage and setting it on fire for good measure.”

“It just kind of happened,” the excuse sounded weak in her own ears. “there was that strange connection between us from the start and I” there, she could finally admit that much to herself. “I mean he is…” 

“Connection? Please tell me you are kidding.” Something looking a lot like disgust flashed over Tay’s face. “That man is a monster. He murdered billions in the name of the First Order. How you can even stomach letting him touch you…”

“You just don’t understand. How easy it must be to just sit down here, far from it all and judge me. Well, let me tell you it is quite different, when you actually go out there on a mission risking your life.”

There was hurt in her brother’s eyes for a moment, telling her she might have gone too far, before he snapped back at her. “Let me tell you one thing then, Selene. You think Quell calling you a First Order whore tonight was bad?” He shook his head. “This is only a small taste of what will happen, if that ever gets out.” 

“I don’t care what people say.” 

“Well you should, because even if you have forgotten it, those people are our kriffing allies.”

“Don’t lecture me on intergalactic politics, Tayshen,” Selene’s voice had turned cold as well, anger welling up in her. 

“Then remember your kriffing duty. Blast it, you are the heir.” His ire had made an agitated flush appear on her brother’s face. “At least Mum and Dad don’t have to hear this.”

The words fell between them with a ringing finality. Selene saw in the way Tay’s eyes widened that he probably rued them immediately, but she did not care, the pain that went through her at hearing them too intense. 

“Get out,” she ground out, pressing a hand to her breast, as if he had wounded her.  
“Selene…” remorse darkened his face.  
“Get out of my room,” her voice was nearly a scream. She pressed her fingernails into her palm, refusing to cry in front of him. 

“Will you tell grandmother?” her whispered question stopped Tay at the door.  
“No,” he said softly, “but your lover is not the most inconspicuous. I suspect she already knows.” 

As the door closed after him with a click, Selene let herself fall on the bed not longer able to hold back her tears. 

Characters (as of Chapter 14)  
The First Order   
Armitage Hux - General of the First Order, Commander of the Finalizer, member of High Command   
Dopheld Mitaka - Lieutenant, his aide  
Tritt Opan - Captain, Informations officer onboard the Finalizer  
Edison Peavey - Captain, second in command onboard the Finalizer  
Masir Trach - Captain, Wing leader of the Finalizer   
Rek Javan - Major, his second in command  
Lanzora Goran - Lieutenant of Navigations onboard the Finalizer   
Lesley Tosla – Lieutenant of Communications onboard the Finalizer   
Cid Stormwater - Pilot onboard the Finalizer  
Baska, Tark, Higgs, Merras - officers on the Finalizer  
AN-3478 - called „Tank“ stormtrooper sergeant on the Finalizer   
ZN-7785 - called „Pip“ young stormtrooper on the Finalizer  
FN-3377 - called „Meg“ stormtrooper on the Finalizer   
ZN-4080 - called „Clics“ stormtrooper on the Finalizer  
KN-9373 - called „Happy“ stormtrooper on the Finalizer  
TN-7750 – called “Lyra” stormtrooper on the Finalizer   
Dev Fallon – Captain, in charge of the stormtroopers on the Finalizer  
Janine Cadwick – Major, Chief of Maintenance and Repairs on the Finalizer   
Kylo Ren - Supreme Leader of the First Order  
Enric Pryde - Allegiant General, Commander of the Steadfast, military leader of the First Order Fleet, member of High Command   
Bellava Parnadee - General of the First Order, member of High Command  
Domaric Quinn- General of the First Order, Commander of the Interceptor, member of High Command  
Frantis Griss - General of the First Order, Commander of the Valiant, member of High Command  
Actos Tosla – Admiral of the First Order, member of High Command  
Rae Sloane – Grand Admiral of the First Order, member of High Command  
Tishra Kandia - Captain, Commander of the „Executer“ dreadnought, former Lieutenant of Communications on the Finalizer

The Zi’daya   
Oilena noe Sa’onserei - Shue (Lady) of the Zi’daya, Leader of the thirteenth house   
Damaris - her aide   
Selene noe Sa’onserei - youngest granddaughter of Oilena, the „Bright Star of Ellesmee“, heir to the seat of the thirteenth house, Commander of the Zidan Research fleet   
Elodia Brentiss - her aide, originally from Corellia  
Khendrik y Shi’seko - Captain of the Morning Guard, Selene’s sworn protector   
Briseis noe Shi’seko - his sister, Wing leader of the Zidan Research fleet, childhood friend of Selene  
Shima y Khi’sheko - Captain, second in Command of the Zidan Research fleet, childhood friend of Selene and Briseis  
Samara noe Ta’sherie - his wife   
Fayth Hikeda - Lieutenant of Communications in the Zidan Research fleet, originally a slave on Mataou  
Deacon y Sa’onserei - eldest grandson of Oilena, Governor of Terenia  
Melody Quell - Deacon’s wife, originally from Hosnian Prime   
Taran, Kieran, Alona - their children (7, 5, 3 years of age)  
Senator Tolney Quell and his wife Evanna - Melody’s parents from Hosnian Prime, moved to the Zidan system after its destruction   
Tayshen y Sa’onserei - middle grandson of Oilena, in charge of Zi’daya Research and Development   
Peeta y Ti’shava, Kara noe Be’amara – Pilots on the Evenfall   
Rine – Technician on the Evenfall   
Darrow y Pa’lenna – Commander of Venya mining station   
Galdonia noe U’lenna – Council member, leader of the third house (Finance)   
Atemis noe Sa’tecce - Council member, leader of the ninth house (Arts)   
Elaine noe Sa’onserei – Selene’s, Deacon’s and Tay’s mother, Oilena’s daughter, deceased   
Bertrand y O’sera - Selene’s, Deacon’s and Tay’s father, deceased   
Lendark y B’araka – Shima’s father, a famous Zi’daya singer and songwriter   
Zenia noe Shi’seko – Briseis’ and Khendrik’s mother   
The Shepherd - Guardian of Rhea’s memory at her chapel 

The resistance   
Leia Organa - General, Princess of Alderaan, military leader of the Resistance  
Poe Dameron - Commander, Wing Leader of the Resistance  
Finn - Commander of the Resistance, former FN-2187  
Rey - of Jakku, young Jedi  
Rose Tico – Lieutenant Commander of the Resistance 

Others  
Trilla Nemase Orlia – Hutt, family head of the Nemase family, member of the Huttese ruling council   
Mekat – her aide

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soo happy new year to all of you!  
> I hope you had a good start and wish you only the best!
> 
> Actually I decided to split this chapter in two parts. Partly because it is just turning out to be really long (even part 1 is more than 10.000 words) and number two I thought I would give you all an update after the short hiatus.
> 
> So as always I would love to hear your thoughts.
> 
> Next chapter will be Ellesmee Part 2.
> 
> Masir will be confronted with some obstacles by Briseis Family.  
> Fayth has a surprise for Tank.  
> Selene shows Hux the city.  
> Tay has a Little taste of that First Order fascination (although he would never admit it)  
> Oilena grills Hux a Little more


	13. Ellesmee Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find an updated list of characters at the end of the chapter 12

Someone once said that politics is little more than the systematic organization of hostilities.  
Grand Moff Tarkin

Masir tried to ignore the clever fingers that tickled along his side slowly, the allure of both the bed’s and his lover’s warmth too great to even think of already getting up. As Briseis’ touch wandered to a more ticklish spot he finally growled and moved swiftly, rolling them over two times until he came to rest on top of her, looking down into her laughing turquoise eyes. 

He started to tickle her back, although he would admit the sight of her tempting curves naked underneath him made him sneak in more than one caressing touch here and there.  
“Mmh,” she commented, closing her eyes in clear appreciation, when his caresses became more insistent, “don’t you have to be at breakfast soon? Hux is going to bite your head off again.”

“Please Brie,” Masir let her leg slide up his hip, while moving between her thighs, earning him a breathless gasp from her. “No mentioning of the General in our bed. The man can wait. Now I have some much more important things to concentrate on.” 

Fifteen minutes later, he was hectically searching for his uniform, having realized after a glance at his comms that he had already been late, before he had indulged into Brisei’s touch again. Taking in the way she languidly sprawled on his bed, her cheeks flushed and a soft smile playing around her lips, he could not summon up any kind of remorse though. This had definitely been worth any amount of time at the sanitation department. 

“You are not coming?” he asked, when he saw she made no move to reach for her own clothes.  
.  
“No,” she stretched slowly, the soft morning light coming in through the balcony door nearly glowing on her bare skin. ”Selene gave us all a day off. It will be some time until the data is analyzed.” She gave him a playful smile. “I think I will try the guest quarter’s showers, they are probably splendid.” 

Stars, he would really prefer to join her. Not able to pull himself away just yet, the First Order Captain leaned in for a last goodbye kiss, letting his hands wander over her soft curves again.  
“He is going to kill you,” Briseis laughed, quickly correcting his hair one last time.

“I will have to hope your friend has mellowed him out enough last night,” Masir joked, thinking of the glances Hux and Sa’onserei had exchanged, when the Zi’daya heir had shown them to their rooms yesterday evening. He was quite sure Hux had not slept alone as well. 

Briseis made a face. “Please don’t remind me of that,” it seemed the blonde pilot had not warmed up to the thought of her friend in General Hux’ arms at all. 

“I will call you later so that we can meet up in town. I will have to first visit Mum this morning, though.” There was a slight look of unease flashing through her eyes, when she mentioned her mother, Masir noted. 

As he made his way through the palace’s corridors, he wondered about the reason for it. As far as Briseis’ stories about her family went, it had always seemed, as if her mother was loving, if slightly overbearing. It might have something to do with the fact that her brother had surprisingly remained on the Finalizer – avoiding having to face his soon to be ex-wife as Briseis had stated with a roll of her eyes. But the Galatean could not help an inkling going through him that the blonde Zi’daya was not really comfortable with the thought of introducing him to her mother. 

“Captain Trach,” the melodious voice of Commander Sa’onserei interrupted his thoughts, as she rounded the corner, dressed into a vibrant, colorful skirt and matching blouse. “Do you need help finding the breakfast room?” While her smile was warm, there were faint shadows under the fair Zi’daya’s eyes that spoke of a night without much sleep. Masir would have suspected some amorous escapades with the General behind it, but there was something flitting over her face, a strange sadness in her eyes that hinted at another reason.

“That would be appreciated,” he stated, following her along the corridor.  
“Aren’t you a little late though?” She gave him a cheeky smile. ”I was actually on my way there to collect everybody in order to leave for the Research center.”  
Masir smiled back, showing his dimples. “I might have been held up a little this morning.” Sa’onserei laughed, a knowing look in her eyes.

As they entered the breakfast room they found Hux, Opan, Mitaka and the stormtrooper squad already waiting, Elodia the only one from the Zi’daya side, who had joined them. Masir had to hide an amused smile at the obvious way the General’s eyes brightened on his Co-Commander, a soft expression in them. 

Unfortunately, Hux’ preoccupation with Sa’sonserei was not so great that Masir could slip in unnoticed, though. “Captain Trach, have you finally decided to join us as well?” he asked coldly.  
“I fear our hosts’ hospitality was too much for my weak mind, I must have overslept, sir.”  
“Mmh,” the General’s green eyes narrowed at him, clearly aware what Masir had been up to last night. 

“Perhaps a morning without breakfast will teach you to be more punctual in the future, Captain.” Hux got up, prompting everyone else on the table to do the same. 

Masir threw a very sad look at the sumptuous breakfast, but he was aware he got off lightly. It seemed Sa’onserei was really softening up the General quite a bit. Even if Briseis did not approve of the two, he was definitely not complaining about this more human version of Hux.  
“Of course, General,” he murmured. 

“Don’t get your hopes up. I am just collecting your infringements to deal with all of them at once at the end of our stay. More efficient that way.” Masir was not sure the way his superior’s lip twitched slightly at the comment indicated that this was actually a joke or a threat.

When they left the room in the direction of the elevators Sa’onserei passed him two croissants, she had obviously pilfered from the table, with a wink. ”To hold you over until lunch.” Masir saw the General catch the gesture, but he didn’t comment, instead his mouth turned into an indulgent half-smile, as he watched Sa’onserei. 

The journey down to the hangar was as impressive as the previous day, the whole city opening up in front of the elevator’s glass walls. A small Zi’daya shuttle was already waiting for them, ready to bring them to the Research and Development Center that was situated at the cliff over the town. Obviously, there was quite an efficient public transport that operated underground as well, as Sa’onserei explained, when they boarded the shuttle, but since they were guests, they would have more opportunity to see the city this way. 

Masir sat down next to Opan, as the shuttle started. The blue-eyed Captain nodded at him in greeting. “Preoccupied this morning?” he asked in an amused tone. Masir led his head fall back against the seat with a dreamy sigh. “Oh, you would not believe it.”  
Opan gave him a long look. ”You really like that little pilot of yours, don’t you, Trach?”  
The Galatean met his friend’s eyes, suddenly earnest. “I never met a woman like her before. I mean she’s smoking hot, sharp, loves to fly, has a wicked sense of humor. Even I am not stupid enough to mess this up.” 

“Mhh, don’t get caught though,” Opan cautioned. ”There still is a regulation against fraternization, as you know.”  
Masir scoffed, throwing a look at Hux and Sa’onserei. They had chosen two seats next to each other at the front of the ship and the Zi’daya was leaning quite far over her Co-Commander, showing him the sights through one of the windows. As they watched, a sudden lurch of the shuttle made Sa’onserei fall slightly against the General, his hand coming up to stabilize her. Masir noted that Hux did not remove his touch from his Co-Commander’s skin even after the situation had passed. 

“You are sure I am the one you should be telling that?” he asked Opan.  
The Information Officer frowned, something like worry passing through his eyes. “Stars, it is, as if those two can’t even keep their hands off each other for five kriffing minutes.” He sighed. “Of all the times for the General to suddenly discover his heart for romance.” 

Masir stared at his friend completely incredulous. “What? You actually think he has… you know feelings for her?” He could not help a disbelieving little laugh escaping him. “I mean… you think he likes her?”

The Galatean felt more than a little astonishment at the thought. While it was not really surprising that Hux had not been able to resist the temptation of sleeping with Sa’onserei, after all a man would need to be blind to not see her allure, he was not quite sure he would have thought his superior even capable of any deeper feelings for another human being. 

Opan kept his gaze on the couple in the front, his blue eyes pensive. “He is not even aware of it himself,” he commented softly, before meeting Masir’s eyes again. “And I don’t have to tell you, how dangerous that might turn out. For all of us.” 

“Because of High Command?”  
Opan nodded, “Pryde will exploit a weakness like that without any scrupels.”  
“And Kylo Ren?”  
“A wild card. As always.” 

Masir felt his own unease rise up. “And if last evening showed one thing than that the Zi’daya can’t be completely trusted.” He looked at Sa’onserei again, a soft smile on her face, as she talked with the General. “Do you think Oilena put her granddaughter up to it?”

But Opan shook his head. “While I would not put anything past that woman, as surprising as it might seem, I think their attraction is actually completely genuine on both sides.”  
He sighed. “That’s the problem.”

Masir clapped his hand on the other man’s shoulder.”Not so gloomy. Where is your appreciation of a good love story?”  
The look on Opan’s face turned even darker.”Well, this has all the markings of a tragic love story. And you watched enough holodramas to know, who bites the dust first in those.”  
“Uggh,”the Galatean rubbed his temple.”You still think the Zi’daya are supporting the Resistance, don’t you, Tritt? But you never found any tangible connection.” 

“Perhaps I have not searched thoroughly enough. Or do you want to tell me there has not been any instance of doubt regarding your Zi’daya pilot?” Masir had to look away from his fellow officer’s entirely too clear gaze for a moment. Blast it, Brieseis’ allegiances were a topic he rather preferred to ignore. 

Opan obviously saw something on his face, because he raised an eyebrow.  
“Well, at least you have not taken leave of all your senses then. What are your plans with her anyway? I don’t really think she will be content to become a First Order Officer’s wife and wait patiently for you in some nice house on Coruscant.” 

“Stars, no.” He was not foolish enough to think that. But he would admit that he had mostly postponed any thought of a future together with Briseis to some nebulous time after the war. The only problem was that his hopes, who should win this war probably vastly diverged from hers.  
“I kind of hoped everything will turn out alright on its own?” the brown-eyed Captain muttered rather lamely. 

Before Opan could comment on that, Elodia exclaimed. ”Look there is Rhea’s chapel,” pointing at a building at the edge of the cliff that looked a lot like a stranded starship.  
“Is that a star cruiser?” Dopheld asked, leaning closer to the Zi’daya aide in interest. “Mmm, yes,” she answered him. “It was actually built out of Rhea’s old ship.”  
“I did not know your ancestor commanded a starcruiser.” Hux interjected with a curious look at Sa’onserei. She nodded.”Yes, she was a Commander in the Old Republic’s Star Fleet. Before she defected of course.” 

A short while later their shuttle landed in front of an impressive circular building, whose massive columns held a ceiling that was constructed to remind the visitor of a forest canopy, islands of glass letting in the dappled sunshine.

They were greeted by Tayshen y Sa’onserei, who was clad in a white labcoat and two of his assistants. “Selene,” there was a marked coldness on the Zi’daya’s face and it seemed he could not bring himself to more than perfunctory nod in the direction of the First Order members.  
As Masir took in the way Sa’onserei’s eyes narrowed on her brother for a moment, he realized that there obviously was some kind of discord between the siblings. 

“You wanted to see the blaster production?” Tayshen asked, guiding them through the building towards a modern production hall, dozens of droids at work at various stations. As they stopped next to the production line, the slim Zi’daya commented rather acerbidly. “I hear we have you to thank for that rushed order, General Hux.” 

His sister shook her head in clear annoyance. ”I think under the circumstances we can be thankful that we got off that lightly.” 

“Mmm,” Tayshen scoffed, his voice holding a lot of sarcasm. ”I am sure you have done everything in your power to ensure that outcome, sister.” With another cold-eyed glance at Hux, he sauntered over to a few blasters lying in front of a small shooting range. “You want to test them, General?” 

Ouch, Masir thought, clearly the Zi’daya had caught on to the relationship between his sister and the General. And clearly he was not approving.  
Hux threw a questioning look at his Co-Commander, but she did not seem to catch it, too busy with glaring at her brother’s back. 

As Hux activated one of the blasters and shot a quick round, the sizzle of the bolts hitting the target cut through the low bustle of the production hall. Masir saw a thoughtful look pass over Commander Sa’onserei’s features, before she suddenly smiled a bit too innocently. If he were Tayshen y Sa’onserei, he would have become more than a little worried at that look.

Picking up a blaster as well, she turned to her Co-Commander. “You really have to show me that firing stance again, Armitage. I always get it wrong.”  
There was clear hesitation on Hux’ face, the General obviously aware that she was playing some kind of game. But when Sa’onserei aimed at the target, her firing arm drooping so low that even Masir flinched, Hux could not help himself any more and put his arm around hers, correcting her aim. 

His Co-Commander immediately seized the opportunity and leaned against him. “Like that?” she asked. “Your stance is a little too narrow.” When the General put his other hand on Sa’onserei’s hip and slowly moved her in a more accurate position, Masir exchanged a look with Opan. That was getting quite a bit handsy. The expression on Tayshen’s face, as he focused on Hux’ hand on his sister’s hip was fluctuating so quickly between outrage and disgust that for a moment the First Order Captain feared the other man would explode. 

“I see,” Sa’onserei murmured in a breathless voice. The blaster bolt hit the target with another sizzle. Quite impressive, Masir thought, if one took into account that both Sa’sonserei and Hux were definitely not looking at the firing range any more, too caught up in each other’s gaze.  
The Zi’daya heir gave a little whoop and laughed. ”Now, that wasn’t so hard. I probably just needed someone more experienced to show me the correct moves.” 

“Perhaps you could take your little training session somewhere more private.” Her brother’s voice held a definite sizzle as well.”We will need at least today to analyze the data you brought back. It was scratched up quite badly.”

Sa’onserei stepped away from her Co-Commander, clearly satisfied that she had successfully provoked her sibling. “Sorry, we could not guarantee pristine conditions, while running for our lives.” She gave him a very wide smile. “But I am sure you will manage.” Turning towards the others, she shrugged. “Well, I guess we can use the opportunity for a free day in the city, then.” 

“Perhaps Captain Opan can assist you with your work,” the General’s voice was polite but firm. Masir nearly smiled, it seemed despite his fascination with Sa’onserei Hux was no fool after all. 

“That is a splendid idea,” Sa’onserei winked at her brother. “I know, how you just love help at your lab, Tay.” Before he could say anything, she had grabbed Opan’s arm and more or less pushed him in the Zi’daya’s direction. “Have fun. We will see you later.” 

Her skirts flowing around her, she linked her arm with that of a mildly protesting Hux, dragging him with her in the direction of the entrance. 

Masir looked around. Dopheld had already vanished with Elodia. The troopers were beaming at each other, obviously still disbelieving that they really got a free day.  
Tank was talking on his comms, probably discussing a meeting point with Fayth. Pulling out his own comms in order to call Briseis, the captain could not help a grin appearing on his own face. 

Some day he would strangle his sister, Tay thought, throwing an inconspicuous glance at his unwelcome guest, as they made their way to his lab. 

Even after last night’s dinner and the confrontation in Selene’s rooms – he tried to ignore the guilt flashing through him, as he remembered her stricken look at his accusations - there had still been a part of him that had been strangely incapable of actually picturing her and Hux as lovers. Probably a protecting mechanism of his brain. 

Stars, the man was cold. Not a flicker of emotion, even at the fact that some of the people, whose home world he had destroyed, were sitting at the same table. Sure, there had been a small crack in the façade, when Selene was mentioned and when he had snapped at Quell, but apart from that? It had seemed unfathomable that his passionate sister and that man would ever…

Well, after that little show with the blasters he was not wondering any more. He had nearly gagged at the expression in the General’s eyes, as he regarded Selene. There were definitely enough emotions there. He shuddered, when he remembered how his sister had looked back at the First Order General. Unfortunately, he could imagine quite well now, what exactly was going on between the two, when they were alone.  
Whatever in the blazes of the universe Selene found even remotely attractive about the man. 

Fine, Tay threw another covert glance at Captain Opan, he would admit that uniform did wonders for the posture, if you had a thing for strict and imposing, but apart from that? His eyes wandered down a little. And those trousers had a tendency to cling quite interestingly… 

“Captain Opan,” he said, not even trying to mask his annoyance with his sister’s meddling. “Do you have any previous experience with data analysis?”  
He would need to find out after all, how closely he would need to watch the blue-eyed Captain, while in his lab. A curious eye color, he mused for a moment, on someone with such dark skin. That combination and those elegant features had probably broken more than one heart onboard the Finalizer. If they even cared for those things in the First Order, he thought derisively. 

“I would say so.” The look in the Captain’s eyes was cool. Probably following his General’s example. Or that was just like they were all made in the First Order. “I am responsible for all the data collection and analysis onboard the Finalizer.”  
Tay paused for a second, before summoning up an insincere smile. “Well, you should be very helpful then, shouldn’t you?”

Was Selene completely crazy now? She had not really let Hux sic his spymaster on him.  
But then he remembered his sister’s glare at him. She might have been just angry enough to do exactly that.  
Sometimes he really wished Selene were not Oilena’s granddaughter in so many regards. 

And now he was saddled with an First Order officer breathing down his neck, while his sister was parading through the city making heart eyes at General Starkiller.  
He could only hope she would not run into any council members…or even worse Resistance informants. 

Reaching his lab, he went to the two assistants that he had left in charge of reconstructing the data from Venya station, Opan trailing behind him. Tay frowned. Was is it really too much to ask that Selene took a little more care with those things? That poor motherboard had looked, as if someone went at it with a hammer. 

“How far are you?” he asked.  
Pedrick shook his head, his eyes still on the screen. “We could reconstruct most of the visuals, but audio is a mess and the whole data is completely disjointed. We will have to go through everything manually to find the right recordings.” 

“How many recordings are there?” Captain Opan had stepped up next to him, curiosity on his lean face.  
“The last back up was nearly three months ago. And the station had roughly around two hundred cameras. ” Tay ignored the First Order Captain and turned towards his team. “I hope you are all prepared for a little night shift.” There were a few good-natured sighs and complaints, but everyone quickly concentrated on their screens. “Pedrick, divide the data between the team.”Tay instructed, before making his way to his own console. 

“If you have a spare console, I could look through a part of that data as well.” Opan’s voice was only holding polite helpfulness. 

Oh, yes sure. And give you access to our network. I don’t think so.

Tay gave the other man a cold smile. “Captain, don’t get me wrong. I really appreciate General Hux’ offer of help. But you see, our technology is quite different from yours and I don’t really think anyone here has time today to show you the ropes. I am sure you will find something else to occupy your time with. Ellesmee is quite beautiful this time of the year.” 

He turned toward his screen, deeming the topic over.  
“Mister Sa’onserei.” Stars, were those First Order types for real? Did he look like he was fifty and bald?  
“Tayshen is quite alright,” he scoffed. “Or if that is too informal for your First Order sensibilities, Sa’onserei will suffice.”

Before Opan could answer, one of the new interns placed a cup of caf in front of Tay with an adoring smile on his face, leaning in a little closer than was strictly necessary. “With milk and sugar, as you like it, Tay.”  
The Zi’daya smiled back absentmindedly. “Thank you, Ozzy.” 

“Yes, I forgot that about your people. That you are… informal.” The way Opan’s expression had turned derisive showed quite clearly, what he thought the relationship between Tay and the young man was. 

Stars, he never touched the interns. He did have some limits after all. But Mister Prim and Proper was definitely not the first person in the galaxy to call him easy. 

“Envy is such an unattractive character trait, Captain.” Tay commented softly. “If there is nothing else?” 

There was a distinctive sharpening of that blue-eyed gaze. “The agreement between your sister and General Hux does stipulate that certain adjustments are done to some of the blasters. I would like to see how exactly you plan to do that. To make sure, only the right blasters are changed.” 

Kriff, he had actually planned to only deactivate that program on the blasters for Hux. Who knew how long that alliance would hold after all? 

Tay briefly wondered, if Selene had even tried to plant their virus yet. The way their argument had escalated last night, he had not asked her about it. He could only hope his reckless sister was not entertaining any wild ideas of trying to convert Hux to the Resistance. Well, good luck with that. Even if she succeeded on the General’s side –and that was a very big if – there probably was no person in the whole galaxy their allies would be less likely to accept as a turncoat than the man responsible for Starkiller Base. Even Kylo Ren would be easier to sell. Did Selene even understand how hated her Co-Commander really was throughout the Galaxy? 

It was strange that Oilena had seemed so contend to let everything just play out yesterday evening. His grandmother was obviously playing one of her games. One of those elaborate ones that always ended up with everyone else doing exactly what she wanted without even realizing it.  
He did not like it. He did not like it at all.

He raised an eyebrow at the First Order Officer. “Don’t trust us? And here I was thinking my sister and your General had such an … amicable relationship.” 

The smile Opan was flashing at him was pure provocation. “Oh yes, I would say I have seldom seen two people be more amicable with each other. As for trust. I probably trust you as far with those blasters, as you trust me with one of your consoles. Although I do understand your reluctance.” There was smug amusement shining in those blue eyes. ”I am quite good at unearthing things people want to keep hidden.” 

Tay felt a thrum of excitement go through him at their exchange. He could not quite resist the temptation to poke back a little. “I don’t think you can compare the third rate encryptions you might have found on your previous missions with our level of skill.” 

The Captain’s lips twitched. “Is that a challenge? I have to warn you, Sa’onserei, there has not been a wall so far I have not been able to breach, if I set my mind to it.” 

Where they actually discussing only hidden information anymore? There was a sparkle in those eyes that hold more than a little interest. 

“Well, I can ensure you; you won’t be able to breach anything this time.” The Zi’daya smiled beatifically at Opan. “And even if you were, of course there would be nothing to find. Since we have nothing to hide from our allies.” He leaned over the console next to him and activated it.  
“So you are probably right, Captain, no reason why you should not make yourself useful while you are here.” 

Watching as the Captain sat down at the console with a slightly amused expression on his face, Tay supressed his own discomfort. If he kept a close eye on him, there was not much he could do, was there?

After working on the data for a few minutes and not being able to concentrate, because his gaze kept straying to his distracting neighbor against his will, Tay leaned over and murmured. “I do hope you won’t be too heartbroken, if you have to go back to your General empty-handed. Unlike my sister I am not susceptible to that questionable First Order charm.” 

Opan leaned back on his chair and scrutinized him for a moment. “You know, Sa’onserei, you are not even half as irresistible, as you think you are.” 

Tay laughed. “That still makes me more irresistible than a lot of other people.” He paused. “Wait, you think I am irresistible?” 

The blue-eyed officer sighed. “Please, I know a lot of men like you. Always searching for the next conquest. The more challenging, the better. And the moment you have what you want you become bored.” 

Did his sister brief the man upfront? That had sounded a lot like what she had thrown at him after things with Fayth fell through.  
His sister, always thinking she knew everything. 

“I sincerely doubt you know somebody like me,” he said arrogantly. “Did you not spent your whole life on one flying First Order tin can or the other?” 

Something flashed in Opan’s eyes. “People are people. Wherever they have grown up.” 

Stars, that sounded like something Rhea would have said. He definitely did not need that ‘we are all connected’ bantha crap now. It would only make him feel guilty. 

“Well, I still think you are only so critical towards me, because you want to hide the fact that you find me interesting, Captain.” 

“Are those delusions contagious? Because then I would prefer to sit further away.” Opan’s voice was dry. 

“I get that a lot,” Tay said very earnestly. “People having to keep their distance in order to not jump me.” 

“Stars above,” there was a little exasperation in the First Order officer’s voice, but a smile was playing around his lips. 

Tay hid a smile of his own. Fine, he would admit there was a strange thrill in getting under that prim First Order veneer. 

And yes Captain Opan looked disturbingly handsome, when he smiled like that.  
In a disgusting First Order way, of course.  
And Tay was definitely not contemplating, how to make it happen again. 

Letting his Co-Commander drag him outside the Research and Development building quite reluctantly, Armitage Hux threw a slightly annoyed glance back at where his crew had vanished.  
“Selene, I really don’t think…”  
She started to cross the plaza in front of the building with such quick steps that he nearly had to jog to keep up with her. “Don’t get all worked up, Armitage. I am sure your troopers will manage one day without your supervision.”  
He nearly sighed. His troopers that were out of armor again. And now traipsing all over town. He had been right to fear that allowing an exception yesterday evening would only lead to more rule breaking. 

Taking in Selene’s agitated expression, Hux gave her a questioning look. “Care to explain what that was just now?” The way she had basically rubbed their relationship into her brother’s face had definitely been new. Something must have happened between her leaving him last night and this morning to bring this on. After all they had agreed that they would keep their dalliance under wraps. But then they had also said that this was only sex and last night…

Had definitely bent that rule quite far. He might argue that she had slipped up first, but then that had been in the heat of the moment and he…  
He had fallen asleep all tangled up with her. Something that had never happened before. With anyone. Ever.

And when he had woken up and realized it, he had not even been perturbed by it. No, he had wanted her to stay, had wanted to wake up with her by his side in the morning, her soft smile the first thing he would see. Because having her next to him had felt surprisingly …right. 

Kriff, this was veering into very inadvisable territory. 

He had been correct, he thought, when he had judged starting anything with Selene noe Sa’onserei madness, because he would not be able to keep a clear head. 

When she ignored his previous question, he finally grabbed her arm slowing her down. “Where are you even going?”

She gave him an annoyed glance over her shoulder. “I need a caf.” She pointed in the direction ahead. “There is a very good caf shop down that road.” 

Realizing he would probably not get anything out of her without indulging her first, Hux let her guide him to a small, cozy looking shop entrance.  
“Oi Selene, you’re back. That’s great.” There was only one person inside, a tall blonde, whose disheveled hair nearly brushed his shoulders and who beamed widely at seeing the Zi’daya heir enter. He leaned over the counter, completely concentrated on her, brown eyes sparkling. “You want your usual?” 

“Oh hi…Marvin.” His Co-Commander was smiling back quite enthusiastically, Hux noted. “Yes, that would be great, thank you.”  
The young man started to press a few buttons on the machine behind him, before looking over at the General, as if he had just realized that he was also there. “And what can I bring you, sir?”  
Hux shook his head. “I don’t drink caf.”  
“Because you have no taste.” Selene laughed and patted his arm. “But don’t worry I will get you some tea later.” 

Hux saw the other man take in the way his Co-Commander’s hand rested on his arm with narrowed eyes.  
“What do I own you?” Selene asked, reaching for her pocket.  
“Oh, don’t worry that one is on the house.” The blonde Zi’daya placed the caf in front of her with a nearly blinding smile. “For the brightest star on Ellesmee! It is good to have you back, Sel!”

The General had to fight to keep his expression under control. Really?  
But to his surprise Selene actually blushed a little and laughed. ”Oh, you are impossible, Marvin. But thank you!” She turned to Hux, her golden eyes still shining. “Let’s go to Nebula square. The view from there is brilliant.” 

As he followed her to a small open space next to the cliff, that really allowed a spectacular view over the city, Hux could not keep himself from frowning a little.  
“Are all your people always that familiar with you?”

Selene sat down on a narrow wall bordering the square and indicated for him to sit next to her, before taking a deep swallow of her caf, her eyes closing in obvious pleasure. While the sun was already bright up in the sky, the air was still slightly crisp from the night.  
“You would prefer them to freeze in awe instead?” there was something like amusement in her eyes, when she finally answered him. 

“No, but…” Hux looked away, not quite sure, why the young man’s familiarity with her had unnerved him so. “He was quite blatantly flirting with you,” he blurted out, immediately realizing that might have been a mistake.

“Ah,” the gold of Selene’s eyes sparkled wildly. “I assume you would not have found his behavior so improper, if he was a nice older lady instead of a good-looking young man.” 

Wait, she actually thought that ungroomed boy good-looking? The intense unease he felt at the thought made him comment rather derisively. “Well, you should not let him get his hopes up in vain by encouraging that behavior.”

The fair Zi’daya tilted her head, her smile that of a playful feline. “Why in vain? I am single after all and you never know what may happen.” 

“Selene…” Hux growled, not amused in the least. Her smile deepened. Kriff, she was just provoking him. 

Leaning closer to him, she let one finger trail along his cheek. “Mhh, what brought that on?” She tipped his nose slightly and grinned. ”Are you perhaps a little jealous, General?” 

“Don’t be ridiculous. I am definitely not,” he snapped, feeling uncomfortably caught. “I am merely…”  
But she stopped him with her finger to his lips, fire in her gaze. “Don’t ruin it now.”

And then she crossed the distance between them, her lips touching his, sending a spark through him. He should have stopped her immediately, kissing in a public place, even if they had been alone so far, was a very bad idea. Instead, he buried his hands in her hair and kissed her back fervently, plundering her mouth, as he pulled her towards him. The way she put one leg over his lap, his hand slipping under her skirt to find her warm skin, would have probably been cause for a case of indecent behavior in public, if someone had happened upon them. 

“Kriff,” she murmured after a while, moving her lips away from his. “We are going to get caught.” She got up with a slightly breathless laugh, leaving him with his head reeling more than a little. 

Somewhere in between Selene had let go of the kriffing caf, it spilling all over the stones now. Hux did not even feel any remorse at the sight. 

Taking his hand, she helped him up. “Let’s take the cable car down the cliff into town.”  
As she led him to an ancient looking contraption a bit further along the cliff, the small wagons swinging freely in the air, he frowned. “Is this even safe?”  
Selene rolled her eyes and bought two tickets from a smiling conductor. “It has been in operation for over two centuries. Of course it is.” That was what he had feared.

Despite his misgivings, he let her steer him into a wagon, sitting down opposite her, his stomach lurching slightly, as it started moving. He watched her, as she was looking out of the window, her eyes soft.  
She looked like summer incarnate today, he thought, in her bright skirts, her hair tumbling in soft waves around her shoulders.  
So beautiful and young. He could not help wanting to touch that brightness, loose himself in that warmth.

And what in the blazes of the universe was he doing? Pretending that he actually could have something real with her? Stars, he was more delusional than that caf shop boy. 

“Selene,” Hux said solemnly, making her look over at him. ”You realize we can’t really run around playing tourists for a day. There are countless things…”

“When was the last time you took a day off?” Her eyes met his, their expression beseeching. “And I mean a real day off. Not doing some shady business for the First Order.” He honestly could not remember. ”Come on, Armitage. Who knows what will happen. That might be the last chance.” 

The General looked out of the window for a moment, absentmindedly noting were the most important landmarks were located in town. As beautiful as Ellesmee looked, it was actually a nightmare regarding defenses he mused and it would be all too easy…  
When he realized what he was doing, he stopped himself, angry at his own thoughts. 

Selene gave him a sassy smile. “Would it help if you pretended that this is some kind of reconnaissance mission?” Her eyes flashed and she leaned closer to him. “You could try to seduce all our secret defenses out of me.” She glanced out of the window to the giant tree. “I would advise you to go for the heart immediately, if it ever comes to it. It will break any further opposition.” She tilted her head. “But then you probably already know that.” 

He stared at her, aghast. “Don’t joke about that.”  
Her smile turned more than a little sad. “Someone once said we joke in order not to cry. I always found that very apt.” 

She shook her head. “Now, we both know the city is impossible to defend. In a bombardment the trees will go up like cinder.” She took a deep breath. “If the Order ever moves against us, we are done for.” Her fingers trailed along the glass, as if she wanted to touch the city below. “It’s fragile. Like most beautiful things.”

If he were a better man, he would let her be. This could only end in a catastrophe.  
However, there was a desperate, needy part of him that was longing for even a small touch of her light, as pathetic as it probably was.  
Would it really be so bad to give in for a day?

He caught her fingers, tangling them with his. “And you want to pretend that all of that does not matter today?” 

She smiled at him, that brilliant smile that caressed him with its warmth. “Yes, let’s pretend. We can be just a boy and a girl. Having a free day in town.” She pressed his fingers for a second. “Just Selene and Armitage.”  
He liked the sound of that words a lot more than he should. With a slight smile, he pressed her fingers back. 

Not letting go of his hand, she dragged him out of the cable car, the moment it came to a stop at the station. To Hux’ amusement, she took her role as tour guide rather seriously, pointing out the sights to him and explaining Ellesmee’s history in the last centuries, as they strolled through town. 

Up close, the General was even more impressed than before. The streets were bright and airy, interspersed by vegetation and not at all like the hectic buzzle and oppressive dim of the Core World cities, he knew. Nonetheless, people were at work everywhere, shops and craft stores busy with customers. The Zi’daya were a proud, but friendly people, he noted, many greeting Selene with a smile and a few words in their melodious language, but no one being in any way subservient towards her. 

While his uniform did garner a few looks, nobody commented, her people obviously sure that Selene knew what she was doing. 

After some time Selene steered him into a smaller alley and towards a distinctive green door. “That is where I got your tea.” She smiled. “They have a really nice courtyard in the back. We can have lunch here.”

As she had promised, the courtyard was beautiful, a lot of small, secluded seating places around a big jacinda tree, the red and golden leaves giving them shade to Hux’ relief. While the climate on Ellesmee was quite temperate, it was summer and it had started to become more than a little warm under his uniform jacket. 

The shop owner, a colorfully dressed woman in her forties, perked up immediately, when Selene mentioned that the tea she had bought some time ago had been for him. “Oh, a fellow tea enthusiast,” she said happily. ”Unfortunately, most people on Ellesmee are only fond of that oversweetened caf concoctions.” She went along an impressive row of jars holding hundreds of different tealeaves. “Mmm, if you like tarine tea, I might interest you in that one. White tea from Yocanda.” 

She brewed him a cup to try, while Selene picked out their lunch, before they sat down at one of the more secluded tables.  
“Oh, that is really good,” Hux commented, as he tried their food, a salad mixed with fruits and spicy meat, the taste exotic, but really nice. The fruits were actually amazing, incredible fresh and sweet. It had been some time since he had any food that had not been kept in cryo storage onboard of a starship. As good as the cooks on the Finalizer were, something fresh did taste quite different. 

Selene smiled. “And here I thought you were only fond of nutritional milk.”  
He scoffed. “Please, no one is fond of that. It tastes like crap.”  
The Zi’daya laughed. “So what are you favorite foods then?”  
It was funny Hux mused, as he answered her. Normally he hated small talk, but with her it was kind of easy. Perhaps, because he was really interested in what she thought about things…

“…You honestly think Ewoks are creepy?” An hour later, they had long finished their meal and were just talking. Hux laughed at Selene’s last answer, which planet she liked least in the galaxy. “Oh come on, they might be cute looking on the outside, but I swear they are hiding something. They are probably cannibals or something gruesome like that,” she grinned at him. “And which planet do you like best?” 

Hux paused for a moment. It wasn’t, as if he had spent much time in his life planetside. And when he had, it had not been for any joyous occasions.  
“Arkanis, probably. From what I remember, it was a little bit like Ellesmee, fresh air, the sea…But perhaps I would actually be disappointed, if I ever returned.” 

“Mmh, or it would feel just like home.” Selene gave him a pensive look. ”I am not more creative. I would probably say Ellesmee. Or perhaps Solei. My family owns a house there, directly on the beach. It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen,” she grinned. “I should take you there one day.”  
She suddenly paused, the grin vanishing from her face, obviously remembering, who she was really talking too. 

Clearing her throat, she used her fork to capture one last piece of dessert on her plate, clearly trying to change the topic. “You are sure you don’t want to try the chocolate cake? You liked it the last time.” 

“Fine,” he gave in with a small sigh and obediently opened his mouth, when she reached over to feed him. There was distinctive heat in her gaze, as she watched him lick the chocolate of her fork. “Perhaps…” she said slowly. 

“Selene! What a surprise to find you here. And in such company!”  
A loud voice interrupted them suddenly, the owner, a portly grey-haired woman in her sixties, stepping closer to their table. Her companion, a pale thin blonde ten years her junior, followed her with a curious expression on her face. 

“Councilor Galdonia, Councilor Atemis.” Selene slowly put the fork back on her plate, her face holding a softly pleasant expression, as if it was quite normal to be caught feeding a General of the most threatening military force in the Galaxy chocolate cake. 

The two women just smiled politely, not batting an eye, so for the Zi’daya it perhaps was?  
“We have just returned to Ellesmee in the course of the mission we discussed in the council. I was using the opportunity to show General Hux the city.” 

“Ah, yes. The Shue has already promised us a detailed mission report in the next council meeting.” Galdonia’s smile grew a little wider, as she turned to him. “Well, you could not get a better person to show you the charms of Ellesmee, General. Always so enthusiastic, our Selene.”  
Or they were just really good at sending out hidden messages. 

His Co-Commander only smiled again, obviously hoping the two would vanish, but Atemis tilted her head in question like a bird, her blue eyes blinking.  
“You will come to the festival of the arts district this evening?” She fluttered her hands animatedly. “Everyone will be so excited that we have guests.” 

Selene paused for a moment, but then nodded. “Of course we will. I would never miss it.”

Galdonia took her fellow councilwoman by the arm, preparing to leave. “That is good to hear.” She winked. “You can’t keep the young man all for yourself after all.”  
Selene made a noncommittal sound and waved at the two in parting. The moment they were through the door, she sighed. “Let’s pay quickly. Before more council members turn up here.”

“Did you like the tea?” the shop owner inquired when they went to the counter. “Oh, yes, it’s very good.” Not as bitter as tarine tea, but very subtle.  
Selene gave the woman a smile. ”If you could pack a batch for him? And put everything on my personal account.” 

“What? Selene wait…” As he caught the tea’s price on the jar, Hux shook his head. “You can’t…”  
But his Co-Commander just grabbed the bag and pushed it in his hand, ignoring his protests.

As they left the shop, she grinned at him. “Don’t worry. The last tea I bought you was more than double that price. And you already drank that one.”  
“You should not buy me things that expensive,” he grumbled.  
“Why not? Afraid you will be accused of being corruptible?” She laughed. “Or that people will say you are my kept man?” 

“Very funny.” He shook his head at her antics. “I did not know we are going to a festival tonight. Anything you want to tell me regarding those council members?”

Selene shrugged. “The ruling family is always invited, so yes it might be prudent to go. As for the council members. Atemis is harmless. Galdonia not so much. For all her grandmotherly looks, she is a shrewd one. Head of house Finance. She has argumented vehemently in favor of First Order support in the past.” She tilted her head. “Are you paying her?” 

Hux smiled. “No, actually not. Perhaps the woman is just intelligent. After all, she got you quite right. You can be very… enthusiastic.” 

“Ha,” his Co-Commander raised her eyebrow. “If I were you, I would not be so cheeky. Or I might deliberate if I will ever be …enthusiastic ever again with you.” 

“Now,” he leaned a little closer to her, letting his breath caress the skin under her ear. “that would be punishing yourself, wouldn’t it be?” 

She closed her eyes for a moment, slowly licking her lips, before looking along the road again. “There is actually one other place I wanted to show you.” 

With those words she led him to another part of town. Here the streets were narrower, the shops actually open in the direction of the street, craftmakers and artisans working on the pieces the customers could buy. When they reached the shop Selene had obviously been searching for, Hux knew immediately, his eyes catching on several finely made knifes.  
His Co-Commander smiled, when she saw the interested expression on his face. “They are a little like your blade, aren’t they?” she said. 

“Mmh,” he murmured, letting his finger trail over an especially impressive blade nearly reverently.  
“Can I help you?” The weapon smith, an older, grizzled-looking man, had come over to them from his workstation.  
Hux paused. He actually did not need another blade for himself. But…his thoughts returned to that moment on Venya, when Selene had been attacked. He would probably feel calmer, if she had another weapon besides her blaster. 

He led his monomolecular blade slip out of the hidden sheath in his uniform sleeve. “Something like this, only smaller?”

The old Zi’daya’s eyes gleamed in appreciation. “That’s a fine blade. Made on Ganthel?“  
“Yes.” Hux nodded. The man obviously knew his blades.  
The weapon smith took it from him and let it snap open two more times. “A perfect blend of technology and craftsmanship. There is a slight catch in the mechanism, though. Nothing major, but you should have let it done, before using it again.” 

Hux frowned. “Could you do it?”  
“Sure, it won’t take long. You can already have a look at the blades in that row. There should be something like you search for there.” The Zi’daya took the blade to his workstation, starting to work on it immediately. 

Selene stepped next to him, as Hux scrutinized the weapons. “Where did you get your blade from? It means somethings to you, doesn’t it?” she asked curiously. 

“It was a gift from Grand Admiral Sloane. To celebrate my graduation from the Academy.” There was a small engraving along the side of the blade. ‘Through order we achieve peace.’ Hux threw a look at Selene. “It has saved my life quite a few times.” 

“Mmmh,” Her eyes were pensive. “You have quite the regard for the Grand Admiral, don’t you?”

Hux nodded absentmindedly, as he tested one of the blades. “I own a lot to her. And she is one of the most admirable Commanders the Order ever had.” He sighed. “Things might have turned out quite differently, if she had become the Order’s leader.” 

“Oh, that is beautiful.” Selene reached for an elegant blade, inlayed with small gemstones that shone in nearly the exact color of her eyes and diamonds. Hux had passed it over as too feminine looking for his tastes, but now that he thought about it, it suited her really well. 

He looked up, as the weapon smith returned with his blade. “How much is this one?”  
The answer made him blink for a moment. “Wait,” Selene interrupted. “You can’t buy me something that expensive.” 

He raised an eyebrow at her. “But you could? With the way you get in danger constantly, I would feel better, if you had a good weapon.”  
“You can’t fault a man for that,” the old Zi’daya commented.

Selene looked at the blade with more than a little longing on her face. “I don’t know…that is probably nearly a month’s wages.”  
What did she think he earned at the First Order? That was going more in the direction of half a year’s income. But then it was not, as if he did anything else with the money.

He plucked the blade from her hands and passed it to the shop owner. “Do you have a matching sheath for it?”  
Selene put a hand on his arm. “I think I would need something else. I don’t wear my uniform all that often after all.” 

The Weapon smith gave her a smile and retrieved a smooth leather sheath from a shelf. “Most ladies prefer this in those cases. You can wear it around your thigh or your arm, as the occasion warrants.”  
“Oh,” Selene’s eyes lightened up. “Elodia does it like that.” She threw a challenging grin at Hux. “Well, want to help me put it on?” 

Five minutes later, after the old Zi’daya had told them they would have more privacy in the back of the workshop with a very amused expression on his weathered face, Hux found himself on one knee on front of his Co-Commander, his heartbeat speeding up considerably, as she raised her skirt for him. He could not resist the temptation to let his hands wander over the smooth skin of her leg, as he positioned the knife sheath on her thigh. 

She breathed in deeply. “Mmmh, thank you for the knife,” she murmured. “My pleasure,” Hux answered softly. With a quick glance to check, if they were undisturbed, he bent forward to let his lips follow the path of his hands, drawing a sigh from her. The thought that she would wear the knife he had bought her at such an intimate place, was more than a little satisfactory, he had to admit.  
After teasing her a bit, a telling flush appearing on her cheeks, he got up again not able to keep a smug smile from his face. “You can show me the rest of your gratitude later.” 

Selene swatted at him, but laughed. When they left the shop, she pointed towards the end of the road. “Do you want to see the beach? It is not far from here anymore.” 

He nodded, actually feeling excitement flash through him. It had been a few years since he had last seen the sea. 

He could actually smell its scent in the air some time, before they saw it. A strangely familiar scent that made long forgotten memories whisper at the edge of his mind. 

A tender hand holding his, as he padded eagerly along the water’s edge, jumping back every now and then, when the next wave crashed, with an excited squeal. The cries of some avian creatures in the air, as the strong wind blew threw his hair, icy cold on his skin, until someone deposited a woolen cap on his head with a laugh. 

As they passed the last row of buildings, he could finally hear it as well, the rhythmic sound of the waves breaking on the shore. Despite the good weather, there was a slight wind blowing here today as well, making the sea a little agitated. 

As they made their way down a small path that led to the water’s edge, they had both fallen silent. Hux caught up in fragments of memories, while Selene had obviously noticed the change in his mood, her eyes soft, as she watched him. 

“Are you not too warm?” she asked. “You should take off your uniform jacket.” He gave her a look, shaking his head. “Definitely not.”  
“Well, I will put my feet in,” she commented, throwing off her shoes and gathering her skirt in one hand to keep it away from the water.  
Hux watched her with a slight smile, as she splashed into the water, shrieking at the first touch. “Uh, that’s cold.” She got in a bit further. “But really refreshing.” 

She glanced back at him and motioned for him to join her. “Come on, Armitage. At least your feet.” She cupped some water with her hand and threw it in the air, the drops glistening. Her laugh was joyous and her eyes shone. “Or I will have to call you a chicken.” 

Hux sighed, not really able to deny her any request, when she looked like that. “Fine, but no splashing.” After getting off his boots and carefully rolling up his uniform trousers to her delighted whoop, he buried his feet in the warm sand for a moment, the sensation surprisingly nice. The first touch of the water on his skin was as cold as he had feared, but as Selene had said it soon felt mostly refreshing. 

Selene beamed at him, as he reached her in the water. “And? Is it so bad to let me convince you to do something out of line?” she asked. 

For a long moment, he just took in her face: those shining golden eyes, a soft flush of excitement on her cheeks, her lips smiling at him. Her words from earlier flashed through his head. So fragile. Like most beautiful things.  
“No,” he breathed. ”I just wished it could last.” 

His words froze her expression.  
“We are not making such a big mistake, aren’t we?” There was suddenly a stark vulnerability in her golden eyes, sending a jolt through Hux’ heart.  
His hand went to her face, his fingers slowly trailing along her cheek, strands of her fair hair being tangled around them by the wind.  
“Selene,” Kriff, he wanted to…

“Aunt Selene!” the excited voices of several children cut through the moment, making them both look over to the shore. Hux had only a second to step backwards, before they splashed through the water, throwing themselves at the Zi’daya heir. 

After a surprised intake of breath, Selene laughed loudly in joy, grabbing the smallest child and swirling her through the air, the two boys jumping up and down excitedly next to them. 

“My favorite little troublemakers.” Carrying the little girl back to the shore, his Co-Commander stroked the boys’ hair, her face happy.  
When the children had calmed down, she turned back to him, motioning to the three dark-haired children. “Taran, Kieran and Alona. My brother’s children.” The oldest was around the age their recruits normally started the stormtrooper training program at, his siblings each a few years younger.

Selene looked along the beach. “Ah, there is Deacon. I actually really have to talk with him. If you will excuse me.” And with those words, she was gone, making her way over to her brother.

And leaving him with three big-eyed children that were staring at him in open curiosity. The middle boy actually walked around him, before leaning closer to his brother, whispering something.  
“I am sure your aunt will return soon,” Hux said, feeling strangely insecure. His contact with children in the Order had always been minimal. 

“Are you a monster?” The oldest boy’s voice was questioning, as he looked at him with dark eyes.  
“What?”

“I told you. He doesn’t have a tail,” the middle one interrupted, his voice annoyed.  
“Yeah, but Grandpa says all First Order people are monsters,” the older one insisted.  
“But all monster have tails. Everyone knows that,” his brother gave him a shove.  
“Monster. Tail. Grrr. Grrr,” the little girl growled and tried to bite into her brother’s leg. 

Oh, stars. 

Hux stared at the waves, unsure what to say.  
“No, I am not a monster,” he muttered after a while. 

“Have you ever seen a monster?” the oldest asked again, clearly unsatisfied with the answer. 

Hux hesitated for a moment.  
“Mmh, well, actually on my homeworld Arkanis there are those very big sea creatures called Naga and some people…” 

Tank threw another look at his comms, as he stood in front of the Research and Development building, waiting for Fayth to arrive. The Zi’daya lieutenant had told him he would not need long, a cheerful tone to his voice that indicated that he had something planned. 

“Are you searching for something?” a melodious voice interrupted his thoughts, making him look up. A slim, dark-haired girl stood a few feet away, smiling at him, the lab coat she was wearing indicating she was working in the center. Two other girls stood a bit further down the way, whispering with each other, obviously her friends. 

Tank gave her slightly confused look. “Mmh, no thank you miss.” He smiled. “I am just waiting for a friend.” 

She grinned, looking him up and down. “Well, if your friend does not turn up…”  
Before she could finish her sentence, the distinct sound of a hoverbike sounded over the plaza. The bike drove over to them swiftly, the rider bringing it to a stop directly in front of Tank. 

“There you are!” Tank had to swallow a little at the way Fayth’ lean legs hugged that bike. The Zi’daya lieutenant pulled off his helmet, a bright grin on his face. 

The girl that had talked with him, returned to her friends with a shrug. “Typical!” 

Fayth gave the stormtrooper sergeant a look, his dark eyes glittering. “Already collecting fans?”  
Tank blinked and laughed. “Where are we going?” 

Fayth shook his head. “It’s a surprise!” He got another helmet out from underneath his seat and motioned behind himself. “So hop on.” 

Feeling slightly insecure Tank did so, not knowing for a moment where to put his hands. Fayth chuckled, taking them and placing them on his hips without any hesitation.  
“You will definitely have to hold on.” 

And with that they were off, the sudden acceleration making Tank’s heartrate speed up considerable. Although that might have had something to do with the way, Fayth’s body pressed against his at every curve he drove the hoverbike through. 

Soon they had left the city behind, the elegant buildings giving way to the broad river on the one side and green, rolling hills on the other. Tank had begun to wonder, where Fayth was taking them, when he finally took a turn to the right. They had reached a cluster of low builidings, many of them with big glass windows on all the sides, in the middle of a spacious garden. 

The Zi’daya lieutenant stopped the bike and turned to Tank with a smile. “This is the Zi’daya center for botany. I have a friend here who can let us inside the greenhouses.” His face turned a little unsure suddenly. “I thought you might like it? I mean if you would have preferred to go into the city…”

Tank quickly shook his head. He was a little overwhelmed that Fayth had put so much thought into this. “No, this is perfect.” 

Fayth smiled. “Good. Then let’s go.”

As they made their way over to the greenhouses, Tank asked. ”So you had some things to do for the Commander last evening and this morning?” 

The lieutenants face closed up for a moment and then he sighed. “I actually might not have said the truth about that.” He looked at the path in front of them, a pained expression on his features. “As cowardly as it is, I just tried to avoid an ex-boyfriend.”

“Oh,” Tank stared at him. But who…

“Yeah,” Fayth frowned. “Tayshen y Sa’onserei and I have been … a thing for a while, I guess. But it did not work out, so…” 

Tank felt his heart sink. So Fayth had practically been dating the Zi’daya prince.  
He threw an inconspicuous glance at his companion, wondering at his intentions suddenly. Sure, it had felt, as if they were flirting now and then, but he…  
He was just a stormtrooper sergeant and Fayth clearly so far out of his league that it was not even funny. 

“I’m sorry.” Tank cleared his throat, reailizing how that sounded. “I mean I am not. I mean I am sorry that you felt bad?” 

But Fayth winked at him. “Don’t worry. I am kind of already forgetting about him.” 

He waved at the nearest house, a young man dressed all in browns and greens waiting in front of it. “Ah hi Jeremy, thanks for letting us have a look today.” 

After talking with Fayth’s friend for a while, Tank deeply impressed by his knowledge about all sorts of plants, they entered the first greenhouse. 

Tank breathed in deeply, feeling a little dizzy at all the green around him. Following Fayth along the path he tried to take everything in. This was amazing. 

“You actually missed quite the dinner yesterday,” he commented. “Oh, really? What happened?” there was curiosity on the lieutenants’ face.  
After recounting the events while walking through the greenhouse, Tank realized that Fayth was frowning, obviously concerned about something. 

“You are worried. About the Commander?” 

Fayth nodded his dark eyes solemn. “Whatever there is between General Hux and her. It can only end badly.” 

Tank swallowed. “You know, it might be surprising, but I really think the General…he might…”  
Fayth sighed. “You might even be right. But it doesn’t change things.” Something dark passed through his eyes for a moment. “Selene is still the Zi’daya heir. She has a duty. And in the end she will have to do what is best for her people. Whatever she or he may feel.”

Tank stared at him. That had sounded more than a little sad.

But then Fayth shook himself and smiled again, his eyes twinkling. He pointed at a door leading to the next greenhouse. “I actually saved the best for last.”  
Tank followed him through the door, anticipation drumming in his veins. 

There were flowers all around them. Bright and colorful. So many. More than he had even seen. And the air was oppressively humid. 

The colors began to flash and swirl around him, his breaths turning to painful gasps. This was just all too much and he couldn’t… He couldn’t breath. 

“Sit down.” Firm hands supported him, helping him down. The room still spinning around him, he was dimly aware of Fayth rubbing soothing circles on his back, his voice speaking in a calming tone. 

“I am sorry.” Tank murmured after a while his eyes on his knees, feeling more than a little ashamed for his weakness. “I completely ruined this.” 

Fayth sighed, his hand on his back continuing its soft circles. “No, it isn’t your fault. If anything, it is mine. I should have considered that this might be a bit…overwhelming.” 

After a few more deep breaths, Tank sat up a little, actually really taking the green house in for the first time. The intense colors made his head buzz for a moment again, but he concentrated on separate flowers and that did the trick his mind calming down. 

He got up and walked around slowly, trying to take in more details. Those small blue flowers that looked like stars near the floor and those bright yellow ones that were growing along a tree stump. And near the waterfall there were some that shone in such a bright red, they seemed to glow. 

Soon he was clambering all over the path, ducking here and there, discovering new plants and flowers in every corner. He could feel a big grin on his face. He would have never imagined something like this could exist. 

After a while, he realized he had not looked at his companion for minutes. As he did so, he found Fayth leaning against a tree patiently and watching him, a slight smile on his face. 

“I am sorry, I completely forgot time.” Still, he could not help beaming again at the wonders around him. “It is just…this is such a wonderful sight!”

“And so is this,” Fayth had stepped closer to him, his brown eyes warm, as he touched his face. “I think that is the first time, I see a real smile on your face.” And then he crossed the distance between them and pressed his lips to Tank’s. 

The stormtrooper froze for a moment, surprise flashing through him. It quickly morphed into excitement, but before he could react, the Zi’daya lieuteneant had leaned back, insecurity on his bronze face. With a slight flush, he murmured. “I am sorry, I did not want to overstep…” 

“No.” Tank stopped him with short gesture. “I was just surprised. That is the most amazing thing anyone has ever done for me.” He took a deep breath. “Thank you.”  
Warmth flooding every fiber of his being he let his hand wander into the other man’s dark hair, drawing him closer for another kiss. 

Selene tried to reign in her emotions, as she made her way over to her oldest brother, who sat a few hundred feet further down the beach, his bare feet comfortably buried in the warm sand in front of him. 

She knew her behavior today had probably been anything but wise. Tay’s accusations from last night would have made many people pause and reconsider their actions. In her they had awakened a strange urge to behave even more reckless. Blast all the consequences.  
However, there was more than a little desperation mixed into the defiance she felt. 

She looked back over her shoulder to the point, where she had left her Co-Commander with her nephews and niece.  
The fun they had today, had nearly made her forget, who she was actually spending her time with. She had brought a wolf in her house and now she was in danger of lowering all her defenses like a fool.  
But while her head was warning her, there remained a strange longing in her heart to get closer to him. 

He saw her. Selene.  
Not Oilena’s granddaughter. Not Rhea’s heir. And definitely not the most sought after bachelorette in the galaxy. Just her. 

And while she had joked earlier, that her people were not the kind to treat her with much reference, that had not been completely true. Who and what she was always colored any interactions she had, especially with men. There were actually two types in her experience. Those that were intimidated by her reputation and completely awkward, when talking to her. And then those that saw her as a prize they wanted to win, bragging and paying her outlandish compliments. Both cases were thoroughly exhausting. 

That was not how Armitage treated her, though. She suspected she would never get any flattery from him. No, if he said something appreciating there was always a cool undertone in his voice, indicating this was just an honest assessment. And he was after all not shy in criticizing her. He saw her as an equal and not a conquest or someone on a pedestal.  
It made her feel…  
It should not matter what it made her feel, because this was turning into insanity. 

“Hi Deacon,” she murmured, sitting down next to him. “Hey, little star,” he answered, softly bumping her shoulder.  
She laughed. “You have not called me that in years,” she commented. “Mmh,” he said his brown eyes warm. “Seemed fitting. You have a glow around you.” 

He did not add anything else though, not even a questioning look. In contrast to the rest of the family Deacon was definitely the most balanced, his good-natured attitude very rarely wavering. He was like Dad, Selene thought. Calm. Contend with his lot in life. And he would never grill her about anything. If she did not want to talk about it, he would let it rest, until she was ready.

“I am sorry about yesterday evening,” she gave him an apologetic look. ”If I had known what grandmother planned I would have told you in advance that I would bring the First Order to dinner. It might have been less stressful for Mel, if she had not attended.”  
He shook his head. “You know grandmother. If she has put her mind to something it is impossible to get her to reconsider. Mel is just anxious that you might be upset with her.”

“Stars no. Of course not,” Selene touched his arm. “I will come over for a visit before I leave, just to calm her down.”  
“That would be nice,” Deacon smiled at her. 

“Why are you even here? I would have expected you on Terenia.”  
He gave her a look. “Grandmother insisted on it. She is more worried than she wants to admit about those attacks. I will actually leave again in a few days. I only brought Mel and the kids. I thought it might be nice for her to have her mother close by before the little one is born. The last two months are always the most exhausting.”

Selene raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure having her parents around will help?”  
Deacon rolled his eyes. “Well, I caught Quell telling his wife, he was glad nobody expected them to live with us on Terenia in our cow shed, as he called it. Ellesmee is at least half way civilized, in his opinion.”

“Charming!” The farmhouse her brother, Mel and the children lived in on their agriculture planet was one of the most cozy and wonderful places Selene had ever been to, but trust the Quells to have no appreciation for something like that. “Four children and eight years and he hasn’t changed.” 

Her brother laughed. “He still calls me Outer Rim riff raff, when he thinks I can’t hear him.” There was a twinkle in his eyes. “So my pity yesterday evening was not very pronounced.” His eyes turned pensive as he glanced over at the children. “They love the kids, though.” 

As he took in the way all three were sitting around Hux on the sand, him obviously telling them some kind of story, he frowned slightly. “Is that a good idea?”

Selene looked over as well. Hopefully, whatever he told them was age appropriate. Alona was only three after all. “He would never do anything to them.”

“Mmh, I am their father and I want to strangle them regularly,” Deacon commented. “He is quite good at it, though. I don’t think I have seen them sit still for more than five minutes ever before.”

Selene felt a little surprise at that. She did not think her Co-Commander had a lot experience with children. As they watched, Kieran, always the biggest troublemaker of the three, jumped up and started to pull on Hux’ arm. After a moment, his siblings joined him, clearly pleading with him to do something. While the General shook his head a few times, he did get up finally, obviously not able to deny them. Selene could relate. Those three were experts at using the puppy eye look on everyone unsuspecting. 

When her Co-Commander started to stomp along the beach after the excitedly squealing children, his hands raised in mock threat, Selene’s eyes widened. “What is he doing?”  
“Playing the sea monster, I would guess,” Deacon said with amusement in his voice. “Stars, Mel is going to have my hide, when she finds out.” 

“Well, don’t tell her,” Selene could imagine that having the man, who destroyed her home planet, play with her children, would only upset her sister in law. 

Her brother raised an eyebrow at her, pointing over. “With those tattletales? No chance.” 

His eyes turned soft, as he regarded her. “Hey, are you okay?”  
For long seconds Selene stared at the waves, not sure how to answer him, too many conflicting thoughts in her head.

“I fear I am caught up in that loop of making one shitty decision after the other,” she murmured at the end, letting some sand rinse through her fingers absentmindedly. 

Deacon chuckled. “Welcome to adult life.”  
She gave him a look. “Is that supposed to be uplifting?”  
“You want some uplifting advice?” he grinned. “Take every day as it comes. And always choose the option that is a little bit less shitty.” 

They were interrupted by a loud splash and the shrieking laughter of the children. When Selene looked over, she nearly did a double take. While Taran, Kieran and Alona where jumping up and down in the shallow part of the water excitedly, her Co-Commander had obviously lost his footing in some sand hole and gone completely under water. As she watched, he got up again cursing vehemently. “Oh stars, I have to save him,” she commented, standing up quickly, Deacon following her. 

Reaching the children, she had to hide her laugh behind her hand at the sight of the General. His uniform was soaked through and he was blinking hectically, as he tried to shake the seawater out of his hair.  
“We slayed the sea monster,” Taran commented triumphantly, his siblings whooping.  
“That is great,” Deacon said, putting an arm around his eldest son. “I am sorry, General.” 

Hux shook his head, blushing a little. “Don’t be. It was my own kriffing fault. I stumbled.”  
“Language,” Selene admonished with a grin, no longer able to hide her glee. “You look like a disgruntled cat. A wet disgruntled cat.”

Her Co-Commander opened his mouth to retort something, but before he could do so, suddenly something shoved her and she went into the water as well, stumbling into the same hidden sand hole he had fallen into.  
When she emerged again, spluttering, it was to a laughing Kieran, his eyes bright in excitement. “Sneak attack!”  
“Oh you little…” she started after him, completely soaked as well, her hair and skirt dripping, making him shriek.

The sound of the General laughing made her look over at him. Time slowed down, as she just stared at him. There was real joy shining in his eyes, their intense green as bright as a gemstone. The sun caught in the fiery red of his hair, making it shine. Something about the carefree look on his face, the genuine happiness she saw there, made her draw in a deep breath. Oh, how she wished she could capture this moment and hold on to it. Even just for a while. She…

“Selene?” The tone of her brother’s voice indicated, he had not called her name for the first time. “Oh sorry, yes?”  
There was a knowing look on Deacon’s face, as he glanced from her to Hux, but he did not comment. “You two probably want to get some dry clothes. We will see each other on the festival tonight?” 

After she had nodded in assent and they had said goodbye to him and the children, Selene and Hux made their way in the direction of the city again. 

“I have to say I am surprised. You were very good with the little ones,” she said with a smile, while trying to wring a little water out of her wet hair. “If you are not careful you will destroy all my notions about you as that stern, imposing military type.”  
The expression on his face was ironic. “Contrary to the rumors I am not eating little children for breakfast, no.” 

He raised an eyebrow. “Nor am I torturing small kittens or puppies in my secret lair of evil.” She laughed. “I would never have believed that one. You love cats.” 

She tilted her head at him. “So the one that you drink your morning caf out of the skulls of your defeated enemies is exaggerated as well, I guess?”  
Hux scoffed. “Utter bantha crap. You know that I don’t drink caf,” he shuddered. “And that’s not even sanitary.” The disgusted face he made, prompted her to laugh again. 

“So it is back to the palace again?” He asked her. ”I definitely need a new uniform.”  
“Mmmh,” Selene put a finger to her lips in thought. “I actually have a better idea.” 

Not waiting for his answer, she took his hand again and dragged him along a few roads. “Shima and Samara live around here.” She explained, while walking. “I am sure she can borrow us some clothes. She is actually a fashion designer.”

Her Co-Commander frowned, as she knocked on a wooden door painted in bright blue. Probably already afraid he would be forced to wear something else than his uniform she suspected. 

“Selene! What a nice surprise. Shima is out with Becca and his mother, though.” Samara beamed at her, as she opened the door, her shoulder length black curls artfully tousled around her cute pixie face. Her dark eyes widened a little, when she realized the Zi’daya heir was completely drenched. “What have you done? Taken a bath fully clothed?”

Selene laughed. “Something like that. Deacon’s little troublemakers sent us swimming. I hoped you might have some clothes for us. It is not all that long till the festival after all.” 

She gestured to the General. “May I introduce, Armitage Hux. My…” for a moment she wondered what to say. Ally? Companion? Enemy? Partner? Friend? She nearly laughed hysterically. Lover? She was driving herself crazy by now. “Co-Commander,” she finished finally.

“Yes, Shima told me.” Samara smiled and shook Hux’ hand. Selene could not read on her face, what exactly Shima had said to her. “Samara noe Ta’sherie. Selene’s dressmaker.” 

“Ah,” Hux commented. “So you are responsible for those unusual designs. They were one of the first things I noticed about her.” Selene gave him a look at that reference to the first weeks of their acquaintance, when she had tried to provoke him by wearing some of the more provocative pieces in her wardrobe. But Samara’s smile widened, her friend clearly happy about his words. 

As they walked through the villa’s spacious courtyard, a jacinda tree swaying slightly in the breeze in its middle, the General glanced around obviously impressed. “That’s a very beautiful property.” 

Samara nodded. “Oh, thank you. It has been in Shima’s family for centuries now. And the best part is, there is actually space for my workshop.” She led them to a door on the ground level behind which a spacious atelier was located. Clothes in all imaginable colors were strewn over every available surface, shimmering mech fabrics pooling here and there.

“Mmm,” Samara looked around in thought. “I actually have something special I would love for you to wear tonight, Sel. After all half the city will be in attendance.” The young woman was quite aware that Selene wearing one of her designs to an occasion like that would considerable boost her other sales. “I have it upstairs though.” Her eyes wandered to Hux. “Let’s start with you then.” 

Selene grabbed a turquoise men’s shirt from one of the racks with a laugh. “How is that?” Her Co-Commander’s eyes widened in something akin to horror. “Don’t you have something a little more subdued? Perhaps in black?” 

Selene rolled her eyes. “There are other colors in the galaxy, you know.”  
“Let me have a look.” Samara vanished between a few more racks of clothes. After a few moments, she returned with some clothes on her arms. “The trousers are black, but I fear the best I can do for the shirt is dark green.”  
The Zi’daya heir saw the General’s expression turn tormented at the slight shimmer of the shirt’s fabric, but she did not let him protest, taking the clothes from Samara and pushing them in his hands. “That’s perfect, thank you.” She made a shooing motion at him. “Well, go change.” 

Samara grinned and pointed at a curtain behind her. “You can use that as a changing room.” She touched Selene’s arm. “I will go and get your dress.” 

When the designer had left, Hux gave Selene a suffering look. “Are you sure we can’t just go back to the palace…”  
“No,” she grumbled, a little annoyed. “I want to show you something before the festival and we won’t have the time. Stars, it won’t kill you to wear something else than this uniform for one kriffing time.”  
Her Co-Commander sighed, but finally started to move behind the curtain.

Selene absentmindedly wandered through the workshop, her thoughts turning to the festival tonight. Since it was likely the whole council would be in attendance as well, she would need to be careful, how she interacted with the General in public later. 

The sound of his wet uniform jacket hitting the floor made her look over to him. She suddenly realized that from the point she was standing at, there was a visible gap in the curtain, allowing her to watch him undress. She stared unabashedly, her mouth opening a little without her noticing. He slowly pulled up his shirt, revealing the taut lines of his stomach. Even in the dim light of the workshop, his pale skin seemed to nearly glow. Selene felt heat rise up violently inside her, as her eyes travelled over his form. His trousers were next, the clink of his belt loud in the silent room. She breathed in deeply, as he began to tug down his boxers. Oh, she wanted him so much and… 

And she was ogling him like some crazed madwoman. Despite knowing that it would probably bother him. His reluctance yesterday to leave the lights on, had made something inside her clench. After the things Tank had told her about his childhood, she suspected more than one sad reason from his past for it. Her cheeks burning, she averted her gaze and stepped back to the entrance. 

Unfortunately, she could not shut up her mind though. Just knowing that he was close and naked made such need burn through her that she had to press her legs together for a moment, to stop a groan from escaping her. 

This physical awareness of him was getting worse and worse. Fine, she would admit there had been traces of it for much longer than she was comfortable with, but since they had started sleeping with each other, it had ramped up considerably. It was as if her hormones were going crazy, urging her to drag him somewhere and rip his clothes of nearly constantly. Even now, part of her was seriously contemplating, if she could not just go over to him and sneak in a few touches, before Samara returned. 

Thankfully, her friend did just that in that moment. “Here is your dress,” she said, a curious expression on her face, as she took in Selene’s still flushed face. 

Hux stepped out from behind the curtain, still fidgeting with his shirt. Selene nearly sighed. This was patently unfair. He was looking good enough to eat with his red hair a lot more disheveled than usual and the shirt bringing out the color of his eyes. The cut of the shirt’s collar was revealing a lot more pale skin, than she was used to, drawing her eyes to that distracting freckles she had noticed once before. Rhea help her, she could not really be blamed for any irrational behavior under those circumstances, could she? 

Quickly grabbing the dress out of Samara’s hands, Selene stepped behind the curtain herself, trying to hide her reaction from her Co-Commander. When she slipped out of her wet skirt and blouse, she realized that her bra and panties were drenched with seawater as well. She contemplated asking Samara for something, but then she glanced at the dress.  
Mmm, might work like that as well. 

She put the dress over her head, letting it fall over her form, it reaching nearly to the floor. The skirt was covered in soft little feathers, ranging from white over rose to a bright pink around her hips. Birds in the some colors were decorating the top, the waterfall cut leaving her arms bare.  
As she watched herself in the mirror, two birds took flight, chasing each other over her stomach.  
She smiled, like she had thought, her lack of underwear was not visible, despite the rather high slit in the skirt that showed off her leg. She had to adjust the knife Hux bought her a little bit, to make sure it remained hidden, though. 

She bit her lip for a moment, her heartbeat speeding up, as an idea crossed her mind. 

“That armor is really impressive,” Hux complimented the young Zi’daya designer honestly, after she had told him, that she was not only responsible for Selene’s dresses but for her mech armor as well. Misses Ta’sherie smiled in thanks. “I do hope to have it available for mass market soon. The fabric is not easy to make, though.” 

Before he could answer, Selene stepped out again and the sight of her made him speechless for a moment. She looked breathtaking in a white and pink dress, feathers swirling around her legs. Utterly exotic and tempting. And the only thing he could think of was how to get it off her.  
He felt heat rise on his cheeks. Her golden eyes shone, as she took in his reaction.

“Oh, you look splendid, Selene,” her friend exclaimed. “Only thanks to you,” his Co-Commander lauded the designer’s work, before turning to him.  
“The sun will set soon. I know quite the place where we can watch the sunset before the festival.” She looked at Misses Ta’sherie. “We will come back and get you and Shima before we go over then?”  
The designer smiled. “Ah, you want to go to Seaside Tower.” She winked. “Don’t get caught.”

Selene laughed, her expression excited. “Never.” 

While Hux narrowed his eyes a little at that, he followed her without comment, as she made her way back to the streets and guided him to a small watchtower only a few corners away. Shaking his head, as she ducked under the wooden plank that barred the entrance, he nonetheless went up the steep stairs after her. 

“Breaking the rules again, Sa’onserei?” he asked, as they reached the top, half of the roof and one wall gone, letting in the sun and fresh sea breeze.  
Selene looked over her shoulder at him, her golden eyes sparkling. “You know me, I am just a natural born rule breaker.” With a sweep of her arm, she pointed at the sun that had begun to sink, already nearly touching the sea in the distance. “But isn’t that a gorgeous view? The Zi’daya sunsets are the most amazing in the Galaxy.”

The way the waves crashed below, nothing between them and the golden and red tinged horizon certainly was. But Hux’ eyes were on her, on the way the fiery sunrays made her hair and eyes shine, as he answered. “The most gorgeous I have ever seen.” 

She gave him one of her brilliant smiles then, obviously quite aware, what he really meant.  
The birds on her dress fluttered around each other in a wild explosion of white and pink colors. Dragging him to a few crumbled stones and sitting down closer to the edge, than he was comfortable with, she regarded him for a moment.  
“You actually like the sea, don’t you? You seem a lot more relaxed near it.” 

Hux stared at the waves for a moment, contemplating what to tell her. “I remember it from my childhood,” he said slowly. “In fact, in a lot more detail than I thought. It is my most vivid memory of Arkanis. My mother used to take me to the sea all the time. No matter the weather. She loved it.” He frowned, a thought passing through his mind. “I think it was the only place, where she felt truly free.” 

Selene looked at him, her eyes compassionate. “She was not happy there?”  
Hux sighed. “She was very young, when she had me. And my father…” he swallowed. “he was not the easiest of men.”  
The Zi’daya heir reached for his hand, her touch soft. “What happened to her?”  
“She was killed. During the Republic’s attack on the Academy on Arkanis.” 

Because you left her there… The guilt going through him was a familiar ache.  
Selene’s hand pressed his for a moment. “I am sorry.”  
He closed his eyes, before shaking his head and looking at her. “It all happened long ago.”  
Her gaze was warm. “That doesn’t mean it does not still hurt.” 

Hux let go of her hand, moving his own to her hair, letting a curl twirl around his fingers. It was still slightly damp from their unintended bath.  
“What you asked earlier,” he murmured, moving closer to her. ”If we are making a mistake.” He could feel her breath on his lips, her eyes holding the by now familiar gleam of desire, when they met his.  
“Yes, undoubtedly.” He buried his hand in her hair. “But blast it, I can’t stop myself from doing it.” 

As he covered her mouth with his, she gasped, her hands grasping his shoulders. There was an unexpected wildness to the way she kissed him back, her tongue tangling with his, her teeth sharp against his lip, nearly drawing blood. She let go of him after a few moments, but only to pull up her dress and move one of her legs over him, sitting herself astride him. 

His hands automatically reached for her, gliding under the slit in her dress, her skin smooth and warm under his touch. Those golden eyes were blazing down at him, as she rolled her hips against him, the friction making him harden immediately against her.

Selene sighed softly, when his hands pushed up her dress further. Hux groaned, as he realized that it was only her under that dress and nothing else. “Selene, you…”  
She laughed breathlessly and let the top of the dress slide over her shoulders, exposing her breasts. “Mmh yes, I am naked underneath that dress.” Her hands went for his trousers impatiently. “And I really really hope Samara forgot to bring you any underwear as well.” 

That was actually the case, but…“What if someone comes here?” he tried to be the voice of reason. A look of pleasure flitted over her face, when she was able to open his trousers enough to finally touch skin. Her hand around his cock made him nearly forget, why this was not a wise idea. Positioning herself over his lap, Selene gave him a cheeky look. “Don’t worry that tower has been blocked for years because it is so ramshackle. Nobody comes here.” 

“What?” 

But then she moved down, taking him inside her and the sensation made him moan, all concerns gone. She was wet, but so tight and… “Stars, woman, you are going to be the death of me.” 

Something flashed through her eyes at his words and she let her head fall back, as she started to move up and down on him. “No,” she breathed. ”not yet.”

Hux let her set the pace, his hands on her hips, completely captured by the way she looked like with the setting sun caressing her naked skin and the expression of rapture on her face, as she lost herself to the pleasure. Blast it, the way her breasts bounced every time she moved down on him, taking him in completely, was enough to drive a man to insanity.  
He watched her as she sped up her movements, soft moans escaping her, a flush rising on her cheeks. 

And in that moment he realized that he did not care, if this was madness. Because if it was, it was the most beautiful madness imaginable and he would not let go of it. Even if it was the death of him in the end. There were a lot worse ways to go after all.

Selene’s eyes met his, wild need blazing in them and her fingers dragged over his arms. “Please, I need…”  
Hux drew her closer swiftly, thrusting up hard inside her a few times. It was enough to make her come with a soft cry, the way she clenched around him, triggering his own release, lights exploding in front of his eyes. 

She collapsed on top of him, her breath hot on his throat. After staring at the waves for a while, the sun a ball of molten fire vanishing in them by now, his fingers playing with her hair, he looked down at her. Her golden eyes met his, their expression so tender it felt like a caress. “Hey,” she said softly. “Hey,” he answered and kissed her forehead. 

“You were right,” he muttered. “Those Zi’daya sunsets are quite amazing.” She chuckled and buried her nose in his shirt. “Careful. You know what they say. Once you go Zi’daya there is no turning back.”  
He moved against her, glancing down where their bodies were still joined. “No problem. I am quite contend where I am right now.”  
She smiled and leaned forward to kiss him, nibbling on his lip slightly. “We could stay here.”  
“In this decrepit tower?” he asked incredulously.  
“You could catch some fish in the waves and I could collect some seaweed.”  
“Mmh, tasty,” he made a face.  
She grinned, her eyes sparkling. “Perhaps, but you could make love to me every night under the stars.” 

Selene froze, alarm flashing over her face. “I mean that is only a joke of course.” She sat up quite suddenly, moving away from him and starting to righten her clothes. Hux watched her in surprise for a second, before he did the same. 

What had changed her mood so abruptly? 

Her words echoed through his head. “You could make love to me every night under the stars.”  
‘make love to me’. Not fuck me, sleep with me, have sex with me. Or a dozen other ways to say this. 

“We should get back to Samara’s and Shima’s house.” There was a deliberate note of light-heartedness to his Co-Commander’s voice, as she prepared to leave the tower. “We don’t have much time before the festival.” 

As he followed her down the stairs, he wondered, if he should say something. Perhaps this meant nothing. Just an unintentional phrase. 

However, the way she had reacted, told a different story. There had been something like panic on her face. Because she had realized, what was between them was more than physical after all?  
He glanced over at her. Her face was composed, her true emotions hidden under an unassumingly pleasant expression.  
The birds on her dress had caught on to her mood, hiding their heads under their wings. 

And what did he feel about this? The rational part of his mind practically screamed at him to stop this foolishness. But the rest was too busy replaying the expression on her face, as she had said he could make love to her every night. And kriff, he wanted to. More than he ever wanted anything else in the galaxy. 

When they arrived back at the Khi’sheko house, the Captain was just returning with a small sleeping girl on his arms as well, an older woman with the same blue eyes accompanying him. He gave them a smile, as he saw them, motioning at the house silently, before vanishing inside. He came back out after a few minutes, his wife at his side, dressed in a bright blue dress that looked, as if someone had captured a summer sky complete with small, fluffy white clouds. 

“Are you sure it is okay for your mum to stay with Becca tonight?” the designer asked her husband with a little frown.  
“Definitely,” he put his arm around her. “Dad will be there tonight, so it is the last place where she wants to go.” He kissed her head. “And I am looking forward to a night of only you and me very much.”  
His wife laughed and linked her arm with Selene’s. “And I to having a drink undisturbed with the girls for once.”

As they made their way along the city streets, Captain Khi’sheko threw a glance at Hux. “So General, how is your first impression of Ellesmee?”  
Hux took in the glittering streetlights for a moment, people milling around everywhere in the still balmy evening air. “It is … surprisingly pleasant.” 

The Zi’daya laughed. “And from you that is probably a ringing endorsement?” He nodded to an archway decorated with white flowers to their right. “There we are, the entrance to the art festival.”

After passing through the archway, they were in a big courtyard filled with people, lined by dozens of alcoves. There was a stage in the front, where some musicians played, but it wasn’t the only place were performances took place, artists displaying their talents in every corner.  
Hux had never been more than passingly interested in the fine arts, his life much too busy with other things for that, but he had to admit the lively atmosphere held a certain appeal. 

“Oh, there are Elodia and Mitaka,” Selene exclaimed, waving them over. Mitaka quickly let go of the Zi’daya aide’s hand with a guilty expression, when he saw his superior, making Hux nearly roll his eyes. Did his aide really think he was not aware of their relationship? 

“I will have to say hello to a few people,” Selene excused herself with a short glance at Hux, clearly eager to get away from him. Before he could answer, she was gone, mingling with the crowd. Hux watched her, as he listened with half an ear to Mitaka gushing about his day in the city. He frowned, as he saw more than one Zi’daya greet her enthusiastically with a kiss to the cheek. It was probably a cultural thing, but stars was that really necessary?

“Ah, General Hux. I see you have made it to our little festival,” a cheerful voice interrupted his thoughts. An innocent expression on her face, Council Member Galdonia regarded him, the bright orange dress she was wearing, making her look like an enormous fruit. “But without our dear Selene now, I see.” 

“Council member,” he nodded his head in greeting. She smiled. “Perhaps better this way, though. There is something I want to discuss in private with you.” She took his arm and led him to one of the alcoves.

”You know, General,” there was a certain hush to her voice that told Hux she did not want this discussion to become public knowledge. “I just want to make sure that you are aware that although it might not seem that way, there are certain…” she paused for a moment. “factions in the council, that are quite supportive of the First Order.” 

“Indeed,” he commented softly, scrutinizing her. He began to wonder what her aim was. Did she think the Order would try to bribe her and those other council members? 

Galdonia coughed. “In the case that you plan a more permanent establishment here.”  
Hux narrowed his eyes at her. “And what would be your advantage in that?” She shrugged. “The business with the order has been very lucrative in the last years. There are many who would prefer to intensify it.” 

The General’s voice turned colder. “And the ruling family?”  
“What?” The council member gave him a scandalized look. “They would remain of course.” Red spots appeared on her cheeks, her grey hair bopping. “I thought you held Selene in quite the regard. I would have never…”

“Don’t worry Council Member,” Hux interrupted her, before she could draw any attention to them with her blustering. “Selene has nothing to fear from me.” 

Galdonia took a deep breath, obviously still quite flustered. “Good. In that case think about it.” She winked, her cheerful mood returned. “It might be to everyone’s advantage after all. Oh, and enjoy the festival. Lendark will sing later.” 

Hux nearly shook his head in amusement, as he watched her leave; it seemed even when conspiring the Zi’daya remained impossible loyal. 

His eyes searched for his Co-Commander again, a slight frown appearing on his face, when he found her near Miss Brentiss, an elegant, good-looking man in his sixties having an arm around each of them. “Oh, a man could die happily like that. One of the most beautiful girls in the galaxy in every arm.”  
“Dad,” Captain Khi’sheko’s voice was pained. He added something in Zi’daya. 

“That is …” Hux could not keep the astonishment out of his voice. “Shima’s father. Lendark y B’araka.” Deacon y Sa’onserei greeted him with a polite nod, as he stepped next to him. “One of our most renowned singers.” He grinned. “And one of the most notorious womanizers.” 

“Mmh,” Hux felt annoyance stir inside him, as he watched the older Zi’daya drag Selene to a group of musicians near the stage, obviously his friends. One of them took her hand and pulled her to the dance floor, the feathers on her dress fluttering, as he spun her around.  
She was ignoring him on purpose since they came here, he was sure of it. 

“So, are you enjoying the festival, General?” The older Sa’onserei brother asked. “Yes, of course,” Hux answered, his eyes still on his Co-Commander.  
“You know,” Deacon y Sa’onserei’s voice was soft. “One of the things you have to learn to deal with, if you have a beautiful sister, is all the men who look at her like they want to undress her.”

Hux’ gaze flickered to him in surprise. “I..” 

But there was no anger on the other man’s face, only faint amusement. “Don’t bother. Unfortunately, I also learned to distinguish between those, who only dream of seeing her naked and those who already have and want it to happen again, over the years. 

The General breathed in deeply. If this continued, he would have a conversation like that with every man in Selene’s life at some point. “And you surely came over here to warn me.” 

Sa’onserei laughed, his brown eyes sparkling. “Oh stars, no. Selene does not need me to protect her. If you hurt her, she will deal with you herself. Or Grandmother will. A much more dire prospect,“ he grinned broadly. ”No, I came here, because I was curious about something.” 

“About what?” Hux asked, feeling more than a little at a disadvantage. 

“Mmh,” the playful look on his face made the other man look disconcertingly like Selene for a moment. “I already found out what I was looking for.” 

Before he could comment on that cryptic remark, a melodious voice interrupted them. “Ah, here you are, Deacon Darling.” 

Dressed in a floor-length dark red dress Oilena noe Sa’onserei made her way over to them, a slight smile on her lips, accompanied by the excited looking council member Atemis. “And you have General Hux with you. What a surprise,“ the Shue gave him a piercing look. “I hope Selene has not abandoned you, General?”

Was that whole family on his case tonight?

“No,” he answered stiffly. “We are both enjoying the festival.”  
“Mmh,” she glanced over at Selene, who was twirled around on the dancefloor by another of Lendark’s friends. “I can see that.” 

The Shue turned to her grandson. “Atemis and I were just discussing this year’s Midsummer Festival, darling. Since Selene will probably be too busy with her mission, somone else from the family should perform.”

The oldest Sa’onserei sibling shook his head, his brown eyes wide. “Definitely not. If Sel is not defending the family honor, I fear there will be no performance. Tay and I would only sent people run away in horror.” 

“I do wonder for what I paid all that tuition money,” Oilena grumbled. “Well, your brother’s flute lessons probably pay off in a way, I guess,” she laughed cheekily.

“Grandmother,” her grandson threw an embarrassed look at Hux. “Could you at least try to behave in front of the guests?” 

“Why?” She raised her eyebrow. “I never understood why one should be especially well behaved in front of guests. If they are unwelcome guests it might cause them to never come back. And if they are friends, they should accept you as you are.” 

She touched her grandson’s arm. “And now make yourself useful and get me something to drink. I do love those fruity little drinks they have here. And don’t forget to bring something for the General as well. We are not savages after all.” 

Deacon y Sa’onserei left with a smile and a shake of his head, Atemis excusing herself and accompanying him. 

The Shue’s eyes focused on Hux again, her intense golden gaze more than a little disconcerting. “So General, I assume our dear Galdonia has promised you the council’s support?”

Hux stared at her, taken aback by the direct question. Then he barked out a laugh. “Even if that were the case it would be very unwise for me to confirm it, wouldn’t it be?” 

She smiled and winked at him. “Well, we will let her have her fun. She is one of those council members that are the happiest when they think they can plot and conspire behind my back. It will keep her occupied, while we make the real decisions.” 

The General raised his eyebrow at her. “I thought the Zidan system was a democracy.” 

Oilena scoffed. “Oh, it is, we have elections every five years. But as much as I love my people, I never forget that they voted that scatterbrain Atemis on the Council the third time in a row now. A little guidance here and there is definitely in order.” She looked around with a thoughtful look on her face. “Although the woman does know how to plan a party, I will give her that.” 

Letting his gaze flow over the gathering as well, Hux became aware of a group of richly dressed older men and women standing a little to the side and watching him and the Shue. There was clear disapproval and scorn on their faces, even more noticeable next to the laughing, festive people around them.

“Don’t worry,” Oilena commented dryly, when she noticed the direction of his gaze. “This time I am the focus not you. The Te’anna family has hated me for years.” She smiled brightly and waved at them, prompting them to look even angrier. “I have always found there are two ways to deal witch such open adversary. Duck your head and cower or stand up proud and smile at them.” She laughed. “Oh, they hate when I do that.” 

“Is there a reason for their disapproval?” Hux could not help but ask.

“Oh, I would say so. I was engaged to the family’s eldest son once.” She sighed with a slightly theatrical flair. “Before I turned up after being lost for six months on an uninhabited outer rim planet, pregnant by the man, who was sworn to protect me. That was a scandal for the ages!” Her laugh was more than a little self-satisfied, Hex thought. ”Broke the poor boy’s heart, though. He never married after that.” The Shue’s face had turned a little melancholy. 

The General scrutinized her, more than a little unsure, if she was making fun of him. “I always thought your people married, who you like,” he said finally. 

“I never said I didn’t pick the man myself in the first place. We women can be fickle creatures, my dear.” She patted his cheek. “Never forget that.”

“And now hush.” She turned towards the stage with a sparkle in her eyes. “Lendark is singing and that man’s voice can charm a woman right out of her clothes.” 

Indeed an expectant silence had fallen over the gathering, as the elegant Zi’daya had entered the stage, preparing his performance.  
He went to the microphone and smiled at the crowd. “Since we have guests tonight, I will sing the first song in Basic.” *)

Nothin' goes as planned  
Everything will break  
People say goodbye  
In their own special way  
All that you rely on  
And all that you can fake  
Will leave you in the morning  
But find you in the day

Oh you're in my veins  
And I cannot get you out  
Oh you're all I taste  
At night inside of my mouth  
Oh you run away  
'Cause I am not what you found  
Oh you're in my veins  
And I cannot get you out

Even Hux had to admit that the soft timber of the man’s voice was extraordinary. What hit him more though, were the words of the song, making him look over at his Co-Commander against his better judgement. 

Everything will change  
Nothing stays the same  
And nobody here's perfect  
Oh but everyone's to blame  
All that you rely on  
And all that you can save  
Will leave you in the morning  
And find you in the day

Oh you're in my veins  
And I cannot get you out  
Oh you're all I taste  
At night inside of my mouth  
Oh you run away  
'Cause I am not what you found  
Oh you're in my veins  
And I cannot get you out  
No I cannot get you out

Feeling his eyes on her, Selene’s gaze met his. The world seemed to fade away, as he lost himself in warm gold. There were so many emotions smoldering there he could not name: longing, confusion, desire, regret and a hint of despair that resonated through him.

Everything is dark  
It's more than you can take  
But you catch a glimpse of sun light  
Shinin', shinin' down on your face  
On your face  
Oh your face

Selene nearly violently ripping her gaze away from his, as the song ended, demonstratively turning towards Miss Brentiss next to her, made him aware of his surroundings again suddenly. 

Oilena noe Sa’onserei was watching him closely, her face pensive. And fool that he was, he had probably let her read him like an open book, all his weaknesses on display.

To his surprise, she only smiled, the expression in her eyes strangely soft. “Ah yes, always so poignant his songs.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * The song is "In my veins" by Andrew Belle. 
> 
> So I guess Ellesmee is doing what it was since I changes my plans again ;-)
> 
> This turned out a lot more fluffy and emotional than I thought. 
> 
> The Shi'seko Family drama will now happen in the next chapter and we will get a lot more Brie and Masir ;-)  
> And some more jealous Hux on the festival. And an interesting breakfast conversation between Selene and her grandmother.  
> Oh, and finally some revelations regarding our mysterious enemy!
> 
> As Always I would love to hear your thoughts!  
> All the best!


	14. Revelations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find an updated list of characters at the end of chapter 12 (Beginning of part 2)

When the people with authority don’t have to answer to the citizens of the galaxy, the result is tyranny. – Mon Mothma, Chancellor of the New Republic 

Briseis stepped off Ellesmee’s underground train, a slightly annoyed look on her face. Stars, that breakfast with her mother had been as exhausting, as she had dreaded.  
With Khendrik up on the Finalizer, Zenia had concentrated all her disapproval at her children’s latest decisions in life on her daughter. 

Briseis sighed. Unfortunately, she did not agree with her mother’s assessment that Khendrik’s and Tasha’s marriage was still salvageable at all. But then she had never warmed up to her sister in law. That insistence that a career in the military was something inadvisable was the same her mother had levelled at her for years.  
Kriff, if she had to listen one more time to the accusation that she was wasting her real talents…

Using an elevator up to the street level, Briseis smiled, as she saw Masir already waiting at the place she had described to him, at least some of her annoyance disappearing instantly.  
She felt a little flash of unease at the thought that she had not mentioned him to her mother at all, just grumbling something unintelligible, when she had asked, if there were some news on the romance front.  
However, she could imagine quite vividly how Zenia would react to the news that Briseis was dating not only a military man, but also a member of the First Order. 

“Hey,” Masir greeted her with a broad smile that showed his dimples and a kiss. “Who would have thought we would have a whole day to ourselves?” 

Briseis grinned as well at the thought, linking her arm with his and guiding him into the direction of the inner-city ring. “If you are not averse to a little walking, we could go by foot and stop at the market to buy some food. We can cook lunch at my flat then.”  
“Sounds like a plan.” 

Strolling through Ellesmee with the First Order Captain turned out to be a lot of fun. While Briseis loved her city, she had lived here with a few interruptions for all her life, so it was great to see it through the eyes of a visitor, Masir’s ardent interest in every new street they discovered contagious.  
When they reached the big open market place, his hazel eyes sparkled. “Wow, I don’t think I have ever seen so many fresh fruits and vegetables at one place.”  
She laughed. “We get most things from Terenia, it is very fertile.” The older woman at the market stall she often frequented greeted her with a friendly smile.  
“What do you think about some sweet potato risotto with goat’s cheese for lunch and some golden melons as dessert?”  
Her companion blinked. “I only understood half of it, but I’m sure it is delicious.”  
Briseis bought the necessary ingredients, knowing she would not have much at home after being away for so long, before pulling Masir to the other end of the market.  
“It’s not far from here anymore.”

As they passed another row of buildings, they could see the ocean in the spaces between the houses. “Oh, you actually live near the sea?” 

“Mmmh,” Briseis guided him to the entrance of one of the buildings, opening the gate with her code. ”I kind of splurged a little on my apartment. It is not all that big, but the terrace has a direct ocean view. We had that when I was a child and I really wanted it again.”  
They had taken the elevator up to her floor and finally stepped into her home. “Wow,” Masir’s eyes widened more than a little. ”Yeah, that’s what I call a view.” 

Briseis felt a little pride that he liked her home and followed him, as he walked onto the terrace. While the flat was actually only one room and the bathroom, a small open kitchen to one side and a small partition separating her bed from the rest of the room, the terrace was spacious and let in the sea breeze and the sound of the waves. 

“I’ve only been to the sea a few times in my life,” Masir said. “Galatea City was far from it and we did not have the credits to go there, when I was a child. And well, after I joined the Order, there were no opportunities any more…” For a moment, Briseis wondered, why he had really joined the Order. He had once told her it had been for the money, but somehow she thought it was not the whole story. 

“I always loved it. It nearly broke my heart, when Mum sold our house at the sea, after Dad’s death.” She stepped next to him and stared at the waves. “I can understand her decision today. Too many memories and it was good for all of us to move into Aunt Thalis’ house. With five children there was always something going on there. But then I was incredible angry at her.” 

Masir looked at her, his eyes compassionate. “He was in the military, wasn’t he?”  
“Mmmh, yes.” Briseis sighed. ”He was Elaine noe Sa’onserei’s sworn protector. So when the shuttle of Selene’s parents exploded he was onboard as well.” A tragedy that had only forged the two girls even closer together.  
“Oh, so Khendrik…”  
“Followed in Dad’s footsteps,” Briseis nodded. ”A fact that Mum always hated. She‘s permanently afraid that something will happen to him. And that I also joined the military did not make it better.” 

“What would she have preferred?” there was open curiosity in the Captain’s eyes.  
“Well, she loves to mention that I had a spot at the Conservatorium at Coruscant, so I guess becoming a professional singer like her,” she shrugged. “But I also aced the entrance test into the Flight Academy and while I cannot imagine my life without music there just is something about flying…” She trailed off, unsure how to describe it. 

“It makes you feel like the whole Galaxy is in reach of your fingertips.” Masir said, the look on his face understanding.  
“Yes,“ Briseis smiled at him, not really surprised that he instantly got, what she meant. ”I mean I really love Ellesmee, but somehow it always felt too small to spend all my time here.” 

They decided to go inside and prepare the food, then. The blonde Zi’daya had to laugh loudly, when it turned out Masir was abysmal at it, skewering the potatoes she gave him to peel. He frowned, when she saved them hectically. “I guess I am a little too used to just getting my food in the Cantina by now.”  
“Don’t worry,” Briseis teased him. “You have me to teach it to you. Although that seems quite the daunting task.” She took a sip from her wine, having poured them both a glass, when she had put a generous amount in the risotto. Perhaps a little daring with it not even being noon, but it was their free day after all. 

Sitting at the table a while later and savoring the food, Masir made an appreciating sound. “Mmh, that’s so good. I see you have even more talents than I thought. I will probably never go hungry ever again.” 

The look in his laughing, hazel eyes made warmth settle comfortably in Briseis’ stomach, before a thought whispered through her mind. It was not the first time he made a comment that indicated he planned to be part of her life for longer than just this mission. However, they had never discussed how that might be possible. 

“Have you ever thought of leaving the Order?” without considering the implications, she let the question fall between them. It immediately caused the expression on his face to change, a lot of his cheerful warmth replaced by a much cooler look.  
“There is only one way to leave the Order.” There was a stark finality to his tone.  
Briseis felt dread rise up inside her. No longer able to remain seated at the table, she stood up, busying herself with carrying her empty plate to the sink and starting to rinse it off. 

“Briseis…” Masir’s voice was pleading. “Let’s not discuss this today.”  
The blonde Zi’daya stopped pretending she was occupied with the plate and looked at him. “And how in the blazes of the universe do you think it will be possible that we ever see each other again after this mission?”  
She had been able to ignore the fact that their relationship was doomed from the start for some time, loosing herself in some fantasy that it would just go on like this. She and the others staying on the Finalizer, the mission dragging on indefinitely. But this was all it was, wasn’t it? A fantasy.

While she was quite sure after their last conversation that Selene had not planted the virus yet, they needed an alternative. She could think of only one possible solution. Because accepting First Order rule was definitely no option. 

Masir got up as well, stepping closer to her, a troubled expression on his face. “I don’t know. But perhaps…” He drew his hand through his brown locks in agitation. “Whatever there is between the General and Sa’onserei it might change things. If she supports him in High Command, this might be a permanent alliance. The Finalizer might come here more often,” some kind of desperate hope flashed over his face. “Or perhaps Hux will install a permanent presence of the Order here. I could apply for a transfer…” 

Briseis could not help a sarcastic laugh escape her, making him stop. “Stars, you don’t really expect Selene to betray her people’s interests for a few romps between the sheets. She would never forget her duty like that. There will be no First Order presence in Ellesmee.”

The First Order Captain stared at her, realization dawning on his face. “Because you don’t really consider us allies. No,” she had not known his eyes could be that cold. “you see us as the enemy.” 

“Oh please, you don’t want to tell me you honestly want that autocratic bunch of warmongers to rule the Galaxy?” Briseis could not help the abhorrence in her voice. 

“I am a Captain of the First Order. Anything else would be treason,” for a moment she felt, as if she was looking at a stranger, so emotionless was Masir’s face. He scoffed. ”And believe me, I know quite well it was not all flowers and rainbows under the New Republic.” 

“At least the Republic did not have to destroy entire planets and murder countless innocents to reach its goals.” The Zi’daya shook her head. “No, the First Order has to be stopped and…” 

Masir moved so quickly, she made a surprised sound, the noise caught by the way he put his hand over her mouth, caging her in against the kitchen counter.  
“Don’t Brie…” his voice was dangerously soft at her ear. “Don’t say anything I will have no choice but to report.” 

And standing in her own kitchen, her heart hammering in her breast, for the first time since she had met him, she realized that for all intents and purposes he was actually her enemy.  
She felt tears rise up in her eyes at the thought. Masir’s eyes widened, obviously thinking his actions had caused them and let go of her immediately. 

“Oh, stars, Briseis, I am so sorry.” He buried his face in her hair, pulling her towards him. “That’s not what I wanted.” 

She looked at him, softly touching his face. “I know.”  
His hazel eyes were solemn, as he regarded her. “It might look a little challenging at the moment, but we will find a way, okay? Because blast it,” he put his hand at her nape touching his forehead against hers. “I am not letting go of you. I promise it.” 

It might have been easier to believe him, if she had not tasted the desperation on his lips, as he kissed her then. Still, she did not protest, when he hefted her up on the kitchen counter, nor did she stop him, when he started to push up the summer dress she was wearing, instead wrapping her legs around him and drawing him closer.

She woke up hours later on her bed, the setting sun over the sea telling her she had been asleep a lot longer than she had planned. Looking over she realized that Masir was awake as well, an unreadable expression on his face, as he watched her.  
“You should have woken me up,” she murmured.  
“Mmmh,” he smiled softly,”you needed the sleep. After all you did not get that much last night.”  
Briseis grinned. “And whose fault is that?”  
Reaching for her comms and reading some messages from Selene and Elodia, she threw a glance over at him. “The others are going to the Art festival this evening. Want to join?”  
The Galatean nodded. “Yeah, why not.”

When they made their way over to the Art district, Briseis scrutinized him unobtrusively. Outwardly, everything between them was okay again, but she could feel a tension in the air that had not been there before. She nearly sighed, as she took in his uniform. There was no way anyone could miss the fact that he was a member of the First Order. And since her mother was a prominent member of the ninth house and deeply involved into the festival’s preparation she would be there as well. 

Waving at Elodia, Mitaka, Samara and Shima, when she saw them near the entrance, they made their way over to them. “Where is Selene?” she asked Shima, after greeting them all.  
He shrugged and grinned. “Caught up in some freaky game of hot and cold with Hux.” He motioned to her friend, who was dancing animatedly near the stage and then to the General, who was in discussion with one of the Council members, although his eyes were glued to his Co-Commander. 

Shima raised an eyebrow. “Want to bet how long it takes until he snaps?”  
“Stars no,” Briseis shuddered,” I will stay far away from that mess.” 

“Do you want to get something to drink?” she asked Masir. As they walked over to a beverage stall, she saw another stall selling chocolate fruits. “Oh, we have to get those, they are delicious.” Laughing at her enthusiasm the Captain went over and bought her some. Popping one chocolate covered grape into her mouth immediately, Briseis sighed in delight. She took a strawberry and raised it to Masir’s mouth. There was more than a little heat in his eyes, as he ate it, letting his tongue swirl around her finger provocatively. 

“So you did find you way here after all,” Zenia noe Shi’seko’s voice made her daughter freeze in something not unlike horror. Briseis felt her cheeks turn red, as she quickly stepped back from the First Order Captain. Blast it, that was not how she had wanted her mother to find out about him. Her ash blonde hair cut razor straight at her shoulders, the regal structure of her face somehow fitting her rather hawkish nose, Zenia had always cut an impressive figure. Now her face showed mostly disapproving surprise. “And who might the young man be?” 

Briseis swallowed. “Oh, sorry. Captain Trach, my mother, Zenia noe Shi’seko.” She saw something flicker in Masir’s eyes at the formal introduction. “Mum, Captain Trach is my…mmh colleague on the Finalizer. He is the wing leader there. I am showing him the city today.” 

“Nice to meet you, Ma’am.” The Galatean’s wide smile wavered more than a little at the glacial look on Zenia’s face, as he shook her hand.  
“I see,” her cool blue eyes scrutinized him, taking in the First Order uniform, before returning to her daughter. ”Well, if your duties allow it, the family is at the usual spot. Everyone will be happy, if you come over for a while.” Alone, her tone indicated. “Captain Trach,” with a last nod, she turned around, mixing with the crowd again. 

And leaving Briseis to stare after her in dismay. 

“You should have warned me that you wanted me to remain your little First Order secret. I could have played the role of your … colleague a bit better then,” there was definitely anger crackling in Masir’s voice. As she looked at him, she was not surprised to see it flashing in his eyes as well. “I am sorry. I did not want to… “  
“You did not want to make me feel, as if you are ashamed of being together with me? Save it, Brie, it’s already too late for that,” with those words he walked away from her, returning to Mitaka and the others. 

Anger both at her mother and at herself burning through her wildly, Briseis made her way over to her family. Barely greeting her aunt and her cousins, she took her mother by the arm. Zenia  
raised her eyebrow. “Oh, already lost Captain Trach? That was quick.” 

“Very funny, Mum!” Briseis hissed. “Would it have killed you to be a little more polite?”  
Zenia’s face showed not the slightest remorse. “I did not know politeness towards the oppressors of the galaxy was a requirement today.”  
Before her daughter could explode at that, she went one. ”Have you completely lost your mind now, Briseis? Stars, I did not want to believe Atemis, when she said she saw Selene feed chocolate cake to General Hux in the Purple Leaf today. It’s always the same. That girl does something completely reckless and irresponsible and you follow her like some fool.”  
“Is feeding people cake now prohibited, or what?” Briseis growled. Wonderful, now she was starting to defend Selene and Hux.  
“She was feeding cake to the man, who destroyed an entire starsystem.” Zenia’s tone was that of utter condemnation. 

“You don’t understand. Masir is not like that.” The blonde Zi’daya could hear the slight desperation in her own voice.  
“He’s a good looking man, I will give him that. Obviously, that’s enough to excuse a little murder these days.” When Briseis shook her head in renewed anger, Zenia touched her arm, her voice showing her concern. “I just don’t want you to get hurt. What kind of future does this have, my dear? Are you content to be just a little diversion on a mission for him? Or do you think he will leave the First Order for you?” 

“You don’t even know him. But that has never stopped you from judging people, hasn’t it?” Briseis tried to hold on to her ire, but as awful as it was, her mother’s words caused all her doubts to rise up again.  
“Well,” Zenia’s face was solemn. ”For your sake, I hope I am wrong. Although that is seldom the case.” 

Masir watched with more than a little trepidation, as Briseis talked with her mother, the two women very obviously arguing. He did not need to be a physic to guess, what the topic of their argument was. 

Blast it, today had confirmed all his worst fears regarding Briseis’ real allegiances. And if that was not bad enough the way she had nervously tried to conceal their relationship in front of her mother, had been like a stab directly in the heart. He looked around slowly, suddenly not longer in the mood for the lively atmosphere of the festival. As his gaze snagged on Hux, he wondered for a moment, if it was not actually his duty to report to the General. It was after all more than clear that there was something going on with the Zi’daya.  
But Hux seemed to be completely preoccupied with glaring at every man, who was dancing with Sa’onserei. Masir would have loved to tell him that perhaps it would be a good idea to just ask her for a dance himself instead, but he still wanted to live, so he refrained. 

He glanced over at Briseis again. Stars, she was looking livid, her anger even visible from afar.  
“Hey Trach, where did you leave Brie?” Sa’onserei seemed to glow in a pink and white dress decorated with feathers, as she stepped next to him, obviously taking a break from dancing.  
“She is talking with her mother,” he nodded in the direction. “Who kriffing hates me.”  
Sa’onserei paused for a moment and then she chuckled to his surprise. “Ah, don’t worry. She hates me as well.”  
“What?”  
“Oh, yes. She once told me it would be entirely my fault, if her children end up in an early grave. She thinks I’m completely irresponsible and a bad influence on Brie and Khendrik.” Her expression turned pensive. “I can’t even blame her for it. There were a few things we did when we were younger…” She sighed. “I probably should not have dragged them with me and my brothers through half the galaxy, trying to avenge our parents. It’s fear, you see. She is deeply afraid she will lose them as well.” 

Masir threw a curious look at her. Briseis had never mentioned that part of her past. “That sounds like quite the story, Commander.”  
Sa’onserei smiled at him with something between amusement and embarrassment. “Ah, I think it is quite okay, if you call me Selene. After all you and my best friend are an item.” She blushed a little. “And she told me about the hangar…”  
The Captain felt heat rise on his cheeks as well. “Ahem, of course.” He coughed. ”And I did not really see all that much…”  
“Mmmh,” Selene’s expression told him, she knew he was only polite. She glanced over to Briseis again. “Oh, now she has done it.”  
“Done what?”  
Selene scoffed. “Zenia has an unrivaled ability to anger her daughter to a point, where she will do exactly what she does not want her to do just to prove something.” 

And indeed Briseis was coming over to them again, the pale blue summer dress she was wearing flowing around her legs with her agitated stride.  
There was more than a little wildness in her turquoise eyes, as she grabbed Masir’s hand and dragged him to the dance floor, not even giving him any opportunity to protest. 

He noticed the music had changed, the rhythm a lot more sensual than before. Briseis put her arms around his neck, her body moving against his quite provocatively. Despite trying to hold on to his annoyance with her, his hands went around her waist nearly automatically, her touch holding an allure he just could not resist.  
She looked up at him, genuine remorse visible on her face. “You have every right to be mad at me,” she murmured. “I know it’s no real excuse, but I actually panicked a little. I mean, I knew how Mum would react and when she suddenly turned up like that…” 

Masir sighed, his anger already cooling down. “So I guess she is no fan of the Order?”  
“No, not really,” Briseis frowned, but then she suddenly grinned at him. “But then she is no fan of a lot of things.” She moved her hip against his and let herself fall back, her hair fanning out behind her. She laughed at his breathless gasp. “And I won’t let her ruin this.”She winked. “I know what a lucky girl I am after all.”  
“A lucky girl?” Her hands went into his hair. “Oh yes, really lucky.” 

She kissed him then, her tongue tangling with his wildly. He might have lost all awareness of his surroundings at that point, drowning in her taste, desire blazing through him. When he finally looked up again, he realized with a start that somehow his hand had found its way to her leg, rising it up daringly against his hip. Even amidst the quite open Zi’daya, they were garnering a few amused glances.  
Briseis stepped back and gave him a cheeky smile. 

Before he could say anything, a good-looking blonde picked her up with an excited squeal of “Brie!” twirling her around. Since Briseis laughed loudly in joy, he surmised she knew him and decided to use the little break to get a grip on his turbulent emotions. 

When he returned to the others, General Hux, the expression on his face showing, he was not at all amused by his officer’s behavior, stopped him. Wonderful, the Galatean thought, now he will probably take his annoyance with Selene out on me.

“It might have slipped your mind Captain Trach, but there is still a regulation 321b in the First Order. Not to speak of proper conduct in public.”

And like so many times before Masir could just not stop himself from snapping back at his superior, despite knowing he would only make it worse, his frustration with the whole situation making him careless. “Oh really, because I am the only one here violating that regulation.” He scoffed. “At least I have enough sense left to take certain activities to my quarters and not use a public hangar.” 

Those piercing green eyes narrowed at him dangerously, the icy tone of Hux’ voice making the Captain shudder in sudden fear. “What did you just say?” 

Stars, had he really thought Selene had softened Hux? He swallowed hard, waiting for the General to really tear into him now. 

But Hux was suddenly not longer looking at him, concentrating instead on something behind him, the expression on his face showing barely constrained fury.  
Masir slowly turned around, not wanting to risk getting his attention again. 

He immediately saw, what had incensed the General. Selene was dancing with the good-looking blonde that had greeted Briseis so enthusiastically earlier. If you could call that dancing. Although it fitted the wild music, it looked more like grinding their hips together, Selene’s hair flying around every time he dipped her. 

“Ah,” Captain Khi’sheko had joined them with his wife. “I did not know Leander was back again on Ellesmee. Probably already for the Midsummer Festival.” He threw a look at Masir. “He is one of Briseis’ many cousins.”

So that was, why she had been happy to see him. “What is he doing?”  
“Ah, well. Export, Import.” Khi’sheko laughed. “You get my drift.” Meaning he was basically a smuggler. Khi’sheko tilted his head, as if contemplating something. “Mmmh, I did not know there was something going on between him and Selene again.” By now Briseis’ cousin had bent Selene back dramatically signaling the end of the dance, his lips gliding over her neck. 

“Going on?” Although he did not look over to them, Hux finally joined their conversation, his voice more than a little rough.  
“Oh yes, they were an item for some time.” There was a suspiciously innocent look on the Zi’daya Captain’s face, as he scrutinized the General for a moment. “Although it was never exclusive.” 

“Exclusive?” Masir really hoped Hux did not believe that tone was in any way conveying indifference or his next meeting with High Command was definitely doomed. 

“Oh yes, you know, if you have a casual relationship and both parties are allowed to sleep with other people as well,” Khi’sheko explained very helpfully. 

That little information was obviously the last strain on the General’s control, because he suddenly marched over to his Co-Commander without even saying goodbye to them.  
“Shima! You know as well as I do, that was years ago. Selene is not interested in Leander at all,”  
Khi’sheko’s wife complained, as they watched Selene trying to calm down an agitated Hux, finally giving up and dragging him towards the entrance. 

Her husband was nearly doubling over in laughter by now. “Sorry darling, that was just too easy.” He shrugged. “Don’t worry, I am sure Selene will thank me at some point.”  
“I sincerely doubt that. It will only get her into a lot of trouble with the Council, if anyone noticed.” His wife shook her head and went over to Elodia and Briseis.

Khi’sheko looked at Masir. “You are not going to tattle on me, aren’t you Trach?”  
The Captain thought about the way Hux had admonished him just a few minutes earlier and grinned. “No, definitely not.”  
The brown-haired Zi’daya laughed and patted his shoulder. “Good man!” He glanced at Briseis for a moment. “So you and Brie.” He smiled broadly. “You know I actually think you are good for her.”  
Masir looked over at her as well. “She is a hell of a woman.”  
Khi’sheko leaned closer to him, still smiling, and murmured. “That she is. And I love her like a sister. So if you ever hurt her, just be aware that I will gut you like a ghest,” he winked and patted his shoulder again, before going over to his wife, kissing her and dragging her to the dance floor. 

Masir took a deep breath. This evening was turning into a little too much drama for his liking.  
“Oh stars, finally you are alone,” he glanced up to find a nervous looking Dopheld Mitaka next to him. “I really need your help, Masir.” 

“With what?” Taking in the worried expression on the Lieutenants face, the Galatean began to fear that it was something serious.

“It’s about Elodia.” Glancing over at the pretty aide, a faint blush appeared on Mitaka’s face. “You know that she and I… I mean we are kind of a couple.” 

Masir smiled. “Yeah, it is kind of hard to miss. But what is the problem? I thought you talked with her about that whole assassin thing and that was all in the past.” 

“Mmmh, that is not the problem no.” Mitaka stared at the ground, avoiding the Galatean’s eyes. “It is just we are getting really close to each other. And I think she wants to… I mean I am not sure what she wants, but I really thinks she wants to… you know…” 

Masir laughed. “She wants to get naked with you?” He winked. ”Well, I would say go for it.”  
Mitaka sighed, took a deep breath and said without pause. “ButIhavenotsleptwithawomanbeforeandIreallydonotknowwhattodo.”  
His friend stared at him, needing a moment to even process what he said. The Lieutenant’s eyes narrowed. “And if you laugh now I am never going to talk with you ever again.”  
Masir slowly counted to three in his head, telling himself that any amusement would only hurt his friend now. “Mmh, no of course not. I mean there is nothing wrong with that. You kind of waited for the right girl, he?” 

“To be honest the opportunity just never came up. I do know the basics of course. I even read a manual I found…” 

“Dopheld, to be frank? That topic is a little bit like flying a TIE. All manuals in the world can’t really prepare you for the real deal,” the Captain nodded sagely. “There just comes a moment where you have to jump into the cockpit and take a dive.” 

“Jump into the cockpit…yeah I think I got it.” Mitaka looked over at Elodia again, his face turning nervous again. “Do you think it might be possible that she also…I mean perhaps…” 

“Sure it is theoretically possible.” Masir watched, as a Zi’daya guy stepped up to the aide, asking her to dance. “How long did you say she lived here?” 

The Lieutenant blinked his big brown eyes. “Oh stars…”  
Masir decided to have mercy on him. “You want my advice? Just talk with her about it. Being honest is the best option.”

But as he saw Briseis’ mother and her cousin standing on the side with their friends, their eyes condemning, as they watched them, he realized that might not always be the case. 

Selene groaned softly, as she turned one more time on the bed, flinging her arm over her face to keep out the morning light. Her body feeling deliciously heavy she definitely still lacked the necessary energy to deal with the fact that she would probably be late for the planned breakfast with her grandmother … and she was in the wrong room again. 

Very slowly, she opened one eye to a slit, searching for the man responsible for her predicament. She blinked in slight confusion at finding the space next to her already empty. But now that she was a bit more awake, the sound of the shower reached her ears. 

For a second, she felt a little disappointment that Armitage had not asked her to join him, before she chastised herself. Hadn’t she slipped up enough yesterday without running to him eagerly directly after waking up?  
Perhaps it was quite fortunate that she had a few moments to herself to sort out her feelings.

Selene sighed, sitting up on the bed, the sheets still draped around her naked form. After their little tryst at the seaside tower, the realization that their relationship was turning much more emotional than was advisable had been weighing on her mind. Her own words that he could make love to her every night had haunted her, their implication that she desired something far beyond the physical from him only too clear. 

She bit her lip. And it was true, wasn’t it? She yearned for his touch, but she also wanted to know his thoughts, share his confidences and light the shadows on his face. She wanted him. Her Co-Commander with his sharp mind and his unexpected humor and that smile that seemed to be reserved just for her. 

However, she was still the heir to the Zidan system and he was still a General of the First Order. The man responsible for Starkiller base. There were icy winds howling in the chasm between them, it being too wide to ever be bridged.  
She closed her eyes. And she could never ever have him. 

Selene had tried to put some much needed distance between them on the festival, but that plan had backfired spectacularly, hadn’t it? She made a tormented face, as she detected her dress on the floor in front of the bed, the way a whole trail of feathers led to the room’s door telling quite the story about last night’s conclusion. She could only hope Samara would not be too upset about the wrecked garment. 

Hux had ripped it off her last night without any care for the delicate material, as they had stumbled into the room, both caught up in a whirlwind of conflicting emotions, desire and anger on the forefront. 

When he had finally snapped, after she had ignored him for hours, and hissed at her that they needed to talk, she had known instantly that this was not a discussion for the public. She had still been surprised by the way he had pressed her against a wall and kissed her passionately the very moment they had stepped out of the lights of the festival and into a darkened ally.

Not for long so, his eyes flashing even in the half-light, as he had inquired, if she honestly expected him to be okay with their arrangement not being exclusive. Laughing in incredulity at the absurdity of the question and asking him, if he really thought she had the time and energy for double that drama had probably been not her wisest idea. 

“Just be aware that I don’t share,” he had basically growled at her, “at all,” before his lips had descended on hers again forcefully.  
That had been the moment, in which she realized they would not be returning to the festival, even if their abrupt departure would definitely sent the rumor mill running. 

They had both held on to the vestiges of control inside the shuttle she had flagged down to get them back to the palace and on the way to his rooms, but the tension had sizzled between them. She annoyed that he thought he could lay any kind of claim on her, he very obviously more than a little jealous. 

Selene had been of a mind to just leave him at the door of his room, but he had immediately dragged her inside and then…  
Then her Co-Commander had been a man on a mission and that mission had obviously been to drive her insane with need. She blushed a little, as she remembered how she had writhed and moaned on the bed in utter abandon, as he had pleasured her again and again. One memorable time she might have even cried out his name quite loudly, as he had pounded her into the mattress, the bed knocking against the wall, her fingernails scratching over his shoulders wildly.  
Stars, she really hoped the guest room next to them was not occupied.

When he had finally let her sleep, after what felt like hours, she had felt much too exhausted to even protest, as he had put one arm around her possessively, the tone of his murmured “Stay,” more an order than a request. 

The smug male satisfaction that had flashed over his face here and there had told her that had probably been a grave mistake, if she wanted any boundaries between them to remain standing. Not to mention the fact that she had no idea how to leave this kriffing room without causing a scandal now. How could she have been so foolish?

‘Well, you kind of let the man bang out all of your remaining brain cells last night, girl,’ a self-depreciating part of her mind whispered. Selene sighed and picked up her comms, she had detected next to the bed on the floor. Time to ask for a favor. 

“Elodia, best of aides in the entire galaxy, could you bring me some clothes and matching shoes from my room? And something for my hair?”

There was no way she could step out of the room in that dress, after all. Thankfully, it was not long until her comms blinked with a response.

“Will be there in five minutes. Hux’ rooms, I presume?” There was a laughing icon behind her friend’s answer, but she would probably have to live with a little of Elodia’s ribbing. 

The smile on Hux’ face, as he stepped out of the bathroom and looked at her, was definitely too self-satisfied for her peace of mind. He was looking unfairly composed, back in his uniform again, not a hair out of place. 

“Ah,” he came closer to the bed, “you are finally awake,” his smile deepened, as he took in the way she was still naked underneath the sheets. 

Selene narrowed her eyes at him, not even trying to hide her annoyance with the situation. “You are aware that we are scheduled to have a breakfast with my grandmother in not even twenty minutes? How do you suppose I get there without any clothes?” She threw an accusing glance at the heap on the floor. “My dress seems to have been destroyed miraculously last night.” 

“I am so sorry for that,” the way her Co-Commander’s lip twitched in amusement, indicated he was not sorry at all. What was it with all the smiles this morning? Uggh, it was if one night of sexual debauchery had been enough to loosen him up completely. And wasn’t that cliché? 

What was even worse she found it increasingly difficult to hold on to her annoyance, when he smiled at her like that, soft green eyes shining with genuine – dare she think it? – happiness. 

“You want one of my shirts?” Hux asked her, his hand beginning to fiddle with the sheets that kept her covered.  
Oh sure, she bet he would love that. Her running around in his shirt. Perhaps she should write ‘Property of Armitage Hux’ somewhere on her body for good measure. 

Blast it, she had to nip those possessive tendencies in the bud or he would use her desire for him to get the upper hand in their relationship permanently. 

“I thought we agreed to be discreet about this,” she ground out. “Me doing the walk of shame back to my room in a First Order shirt is not exactly that.” His hands had by now found her bare skin underneath the sheet, making it somewhat hard for her to concentrate on what she was saying. “I told you before. Me staying here all night is a foolish risk, we can’t take. My grandmother…” 

“Your grandmother knows exactly, what we are doing,” he interrupted her with a raised eyebrow. “Don’t have any illusions about it.” Unfortunately, she suspected the same. Hearing the assessment from him, made unease rise up inside her. She feared, she needed to prepare herself for quite an unpleasant conversation, then. 

“As for last night,” Hux leaned closer to her, his lips whispering over her neck. “I had the impression you quite thoroughly enjoyed, how I made love to you.”  
Her eyes flickered to his, him using her words from yesterday making her tense up. She would have been able to sum up some righteous anger, she thought, if what she found on his face had been in any way a smug expression. Instead, it was a nearly boyish elation that shimmered in his clear green eyes, slight insecurity mixing in, when she did not react to his comment right away.

It made something inside her go all soft and warm towards him. He would need to be more careful with the sun today, if he did not want to burn, she noted absentmindedly, as she took in the slight color on his nose and cheekbones. There were even two or three cute new freckles there.  
“Armitage,“ she murmured, trying to hold on to the rest of her sanity, “you know I did. But…” 

A sharp knock on the door saved her from saying anything completely unwise.  
When Hux looked over in slight surprise, she pulled the sheets up around herself again. “That’s Elodia with my clothes,” she explained. 

“Mmh, then it seems you found a solution after all. I will check up with my crew in the meantime,” her Co-Commander made no immediate move towards the door though, but instead bent forward to claim her lips in a tender kiss. Wait, were they kriffing doing goodbye kisses now?

When the kiss started to become more intense and his hands began to wander again, she finally summed up enough resolve to put her hand to his chest and move backwards.  
“You have to let her in,” she commented.  
“Of course,” with a last lingering look down on her breasts, he moved towards the door. 

Selene had to suppress a chuckle at seeing him blush slightly, when Elodia greeted him with a cheeky “Good morning, General,” a grin on her face, as she stepped into the room. It seemed he was not as nonchalant about this, as he had pretended after all.  
“Miss Brentiss,” he nodded one last time in Selene’s direction. ”We will see each other at the breakfast, Commander.” 

Elodia gave her friend a very amused look, after he had vanished through the door. “I do hope he does not also call you Commander in bed,” she laughed.  
“Stars, no,” the Zi’daya heir shook her head with a slight eyeroll. “He probably thinks it is improper to call me by my first name in front of you.” 

Her aide raised her eyebrow, starting to pick up the feathers on her way to the bed, finishing with the destroyed dress. “Because there is a plausible, innocent explanation for this and the fact that you are butt naked underneath that sheet that doesn’t involve you two screwing each other’s brains out last night?”

She placed a cloth bag on the bed next to Selene. “I brought you a dress, shoes and some cosmetics.” She tilted her head at Selene. “But first you will have to shower. There is no way to tame your hair into anything resembling civility otherwise.”  
Selene sighed and finally clambered out of the bed, letting the sheet fall down. Elodia followed her inside the bathroom. There had never been any false modesty between her and her friends.

The Zi’daya heir had to suppress a groan, as the hot water of the shower cascaded over her body. Blast it, there were muscles hurting in her body, she had not even known existed. She would have loved to draw this out. Unfortunately, she was pressed for time, so she went through the task of washing her hair quite efficiently. 

“So,” she asked a few minutes later, stepping out of the shower and toweling herself dry,” how noticeable was it that we left together?” 

“Mmh,” Elodia was leaning against the room’s tiled wall, a cute black and white dress with a bow in the front hugging her form. “You want the reassuring answer or the truth?” 

Selene gave her a look. “Now you have already worried me.” 

“Well,” her friend passed her clothes over to her and she started to put them on, the comfortable, pale blue dress one of her favorites. “Leander was searching for you, after you left with Hux. And he wondered quite publicly where you might have vanished to.” 

“And you don’t think that was a coincidence?”

“Zenia and her friends were latching on that little titbit like some vultures.” Elodia’s dark eyes held a lot of irritation. ”I swear, if I have to listen to one more story about some incredible nice person they knew on Hosnian Prime I am going to scream. That planet was inhabited by saints it seems. Briseis was furious.” 

Selene sat down on a little stool in front of the mirror and started to dab on some concealer on the slight shadows under her eyes. Her gaze met her friend’s for a moment. “They are not wrong, you know.” 

Elodia stepped behind her and began to untangle her hair. “I know that. It’s the self-righteous tone that drives my crazy. Obviously we are accused of consorting with the spawns of pure evil.”

Selene rubbed her temple in dismay. She could already imagine what Zenia’s faction would have to say about this in the next council meeting. The vote for First Order support in the council had been a close one. 

Her aide’s fingers were skillfully braiding her hair, her dark eyes holding a curious gleam, as she watched her in the mirror. “So what is going on between Hux and you?” She laughed.” Besides the obvious, of course.” 

Selene let her fingers trail over the basin in front of her, trying to decide what to say. “I wished, I knew. I mean the sex is phenomenal, but apart from that… ” she trailed off.

Elodia sighed. “Oh, I envy you.”  
Selene threw a surprised look at her. “I thought you and Mitaka had overcome that whole thing about your past.”

“Yes, but it is all very proper between us. We kiss and that’s it. I mean I tried a few times to take it a step further, but it is, as if he is still unsure.” 

The fair Zi’daya shook her head slightly at her friend’s obvious insecurity. “Don’t worry, he is completely into you. He is probably just very shy.” 

Elodia smiled. “But back to you and the General. I can tell you he was more than a little jealous yesterday, when you danced with Leander. Might have something to do with Shima telling him that the two of you were an item once.”

“What?” Selene stared at her, “that was years ago. And not for very long.” 

“Oh yes, Samara said he was close to exploding, when Shima mentioned it was very casual and not exclusive.” 

“Stars, so that was, where he got that ridiculous notion from.” She had wondered about that. 

Elodia’s grin turned downright naughty. “And I guess he made sure, you know what you will be missing, if you ever end things with him.”

“If I had any sense left, I still would. This is turning a lot more complicated than it is advisable.” Selene turned to her friend, biting her lip. “As awful as it is, I am starting to care a lot more than I should.” 

“Is that really so awful?” Elodia touched her shoulder in support. “Have you ever considered he might have some feelings for you?” 

“You do know, who we are talking about? Armitage Hux, General of the First Order? The man behind Starkiller? I sincerely doubt he ever had any feelings for anyone in his whole life.” Selene tried to ignore the whispers in her head telling her she knew that was not true and shook her head. “He may feel some kind of possessiveness towards me, but that’s all. Probably, because he has cooked up some twisted fantasy in his mind with him ruling the galaxy and me as his mistress. That is how the other Generals all do it, isn’t it? Marry some proper Imperial chick and keep the girl they like to fuck in some fancy property on the Core Worlds.” 

“Because you would be such prime material for that role.” Elodia’s eyes were pensive. “Are you sure you don’t just want to believe that, because of what it might mean, if the opposite was true? What I can tell you is, the way he is looking at you, when he thinks no one is watching, is definitely not plain lust. More like you are the most amazing thing he has ever seen and he longs for just one little touch. ” 

The Zi’daya heir stared at her friend, her words making her heart beat faster against her better judgement. Her mind flew back to all the instances in the last weeks, where she had caught him softening up towards her. The way his eyes lightened up, when she entered a room. How he smiled at her with genuine warmth. The expression on his face yesterday, when he told her he wished this could last. 

“It doesn’t matter,” her voice was flat. “We still have to go through with the plan.” 

“Do we?” Elodia gave her a solemn look. “You helped me leave the Red Hounds, perhaps…”

“That was different. You had no choice.” 

“There is always a choice, Sel.” Elodia’s eyes turned sad. “I could have decided not to kill those people. I just made the choice that my and my family’s life were worth more than that of countless others.” 

“That’s not even comparable.” Selene’s voice shook. “There is no way to overcome this. I’ve always known, what he has done and since I am foolish enough to care for him despite it, I will have to live with the consequences.” 

“Selene…”

“What do you suppose is the alternative? That we miraculously get the Finalizer on the side of the Resistance and everything is forgiven and forgotten?”

“And killing off every member of the First Order instead makes us better in what way exactly?” 

“They started this war, not us. And after this, the war will be over. There will finally be no need for any more conflicts.” 

“Well, that’s perfect then, isn’t it? Who cares about a few sacrifices on the way,” Elodia’s face was fierce.

“You forget one thing, Elodia. Even if, there was a possibility to get them on our side. I cannot trust him. We cannot trust them.”

“Funny. The last time I checked, we were the ones planning to stab them in the back and blow up their ship and not the other way round.” 

The words hit Selene like a blaster bolt to the chest, making her close her eyes for a moment. She took a deep breath. “I can’t do this now. I am already late for the breakfast.”

Elodia’s eyes flashed, but she finished her hair with a few gestures. “Here, everything done.” 

When they stepped back into the bedroom, Selene bent down to retrieve the knife Hux had bought her from the floor. As she put it back on her thigh, Elodia whistled. “Wow, nice. Where did you get that?”

Selene could not help a slight blush appearing on her cheeks. “Well,…”  
The dark-skinned aide’s eyes widened. “Hux gave that to you?” She laughed in slight disbelief. “Honestly Selene, the man buys you a diamond encrusted dagger for stars know how many credits and you still wonder what his intentions are? I don’t really think he is dreaming of you becoming his mistress. There are a few societies in this galaxy, where this would count as an outright marriage proposal.”

“It was not that expensive…” Selene murmured, feeling a little defensive. She found the idea of permanently wearing something, he gifted to her, a lot nicer than she should.  
“You can be such a snob.” Elodia gave her an indulgent look, as they made their way to the door. “I am not.”  
“Yes, you are. It is, because you have been filthy rich all your life. You have no concept of money.” 

When they arrived in the dining room, everyone else was already present, but thankfully, breakfast had just started to be served. 

“Selene, my dear, there you are,” her grandmother’s smile was wide, as she greeted her with a kiss to the cheek. “Sit here between me and the General.” 

“General Hux,” Selene kept her face carefully composed, greeting her Co-Commander, as if they had not just parted twenty minutes ago. “I hope you had a good night’s rest?”  
“Very much so, thank you Commander,” Hux’ voice was equally polite. 

Oilena scooped a few colorful fruits on her plate, scrutinizing the two of them with an innocent expression on her face. “Well, you both have such a nice color on your faces. It seems yesterday’s activities have done you some good.” 

“What?” Against her better judgement, Selene could not help the slightly panicked tone in her voice. 

“You were showing the General our wonderful city and the beach, were you not darling?” Her grandmother’s smile had turned a little predatory. Blast it, Selene thought, Hux was right, her grandmother knew exactly what was going on between her and her Co-Commander. 

“Yes, of course,” she said a bit breathlessly. She was saved again by young Pip piping up, his voice enthusiastic. “Ellesmee is really such a beautiful city. I’ve never been anywhere so amazing ever before. We were at the beach and there were people there that used some wooden boards to ride on the waves…They tried to show me, but I fell in all the time.” He laughed good-naturedly. 

“Ah, you mean surfing.” Elodia smiled at the blonde trooper. “It’s not so easy to get the hang on it, but once you do it’s real fun.” 

After that, all the troopers joined in with stories of their day in the city. Selene saw Hux take a deep breath, obviously close to saying something and quickly touched his knee under the table. When he threw a glance at her, she imperceptively shook her head. The animated chatter took the spotlight away from them and really, could he not let the soldiers have a little fun for once?

Some time into the breakfast, her comms beeped with a message from Tay and she frowned. Obviously, he had finally been able to decipher the data from Venya station. But he had added a comment to only bring those up to the Research center, she and Hux trusted.  
As she looked up, she saw Hux was staring at his comms as well, obviously reading a similar message from Opan. 

“I fear, we will have to go up to the Research center now. Thank you very much for your hospitality, Shue.” Her Co-Commander inclined his head in her grandmother’s direction and stood up. “Sergeant,” he addressed Tank,” you and your squad should already start organizing the supplies. Mitaka and Trach, with me.” 

When Selene tried to get up as well, her grandmother took her arm, leaning closer. “If you would stay a little longer, Selene, there are some things I want to discuss with you. Damaris will fly you up later.” The Zi’daya paused for a second, before giving the members of her crew a sign that they should accompany Hux. She knew there was no way to avoid this conversation, so it was probably better to get it over with.

As everyone started to leave, the Shue watched with an appreciating look on her face. “Well, there is something to say about those First Order uniforms.” She had switched to Zi’daya. “Especially from behind.”  
Seeing that Selene was not in the mood to answer to that comment, Oilena stapled her face on her hands, smiling broadly again, her golden eyes glittering. 

“So, General Hux,” she tilted her head a little. ”A very interesting young man, isn’t he?”  
Selene looked at her grandmother, contemplating how to play this. Confess immediately or deny until the bitter end?  
“Interesting, indeed,” she murmured after a few moments. 

“I know what you did,“ her grandmother’s voice was soft, the words making her heart beat faster, ”your brother told me everything.”  
She was going to kill Tay.  
“And while I have to chastise you for your recklessness, it might turn out to our advantage in the end. Even if it will not be easy to get this through the council. I will keep the information from the public as long as possible, but…” Mmmh, what? Selene stared at her, completely at loss what to say.

“Trilla is a useful ally to have and if you get that defense system to work…” Oh, she was talking about the mining station. Selene suppressed a relieved sigh and met her grandmother’s gaze. “I am not so sure about that. The people we lost…”  
The Shue took her hand and pressed it for a moment. “I know. But as terrible as it is, I fear the General is right with his assessment that we are no random target. This has something to do with Rhea. If it had not been the mining station, it would probably have been another Zi’daya settlement.” 

Her eyes turned hard. “Whatever they are, they have to be stopped. Could you use the defense system?”

Selene shook her head. ”The stability problem remains, I reached some kind of dead-end with all my ideas.” 

Her grandmother’s eyes narrowed at her. “Have you asked General Hux about it? He is good at those engineering things, isn’t he?”

Her heir gave her look. “I can hardly ask him to build a weapon for me.” 

“My dear,” Oilena patted her hand and winked.” I am sure you will find a way to convince him.” 

‘Sometimes,’ Selene thought, waiting for her grandmother to finally address the vermook in the room, ‘I really wished she would not include her own family in her games’. But the Shue only continued to smile at her, her expression strangely amused. 

“Now, darling” she made a shooing motion, “you should get up there and see what your brother has discovered.”

As Selene made her way to the door, her grandmother’s voice stopped her one last time. “I never wanted to be one of those leaders, who are unable to let go, you know.” Her intense golden eyes were focused completely on her. “I plan to give it all over to you in due time. So it is only prudent that you decide in which direction our people’s fate goes.” The Shue’s face was calm. “And your own.” 

The words resonated through Selene’s head, while she made her way to the shuttle. She did not know, if it had been her grandmother’s intention, but much more than her brother’s accusations they had been a stark reminder that she had a duty towards her people. 

Our people’s fate. And your own.  
Because there could never be one without the other. 

And she realized, as she looked out of the shuttle’s window, the familiar view of Ellesmee beneath them, what she, Selene, wanted for herself was at terrible odds with what needed to be done for her people’s sake. 

For the first time in her life she felt, as if being the heir was a weight on her shoulders that pressed her down, stealing her breath. 

She just did not know what to do. 

When she entered the meeting room up in the Research center, there were no traces of the turmoil in her heart to be found on her face, though.

“Selene,” her brother greeted her, something like excitement shining in his eyes. “I was just explaining that we were able to recover some visuals from the moment of the attack. The audio is abysmal but…” his face turned grave. ”what we can see is quite interesting.” 

“I never doubted you.” Selene commented, as she sat down next to Elodia. She could not resist the temptation to needle him a little, though. “I hope Captain Opan was able to help you?” 

Tay’s eyes narrowed for a moment, but then an amused smile played around his lips. “Very much so, thank you sister.” He concentrated on his screen, starting the transmission. “But then I don’t have to tell you about our allies surprising skills, don’t I?” 

Selene blinked a little, as the blue-eyed First Order Captain leaned forward and commented. “It is actually First Order policy to share those skills with the less fortunate out there in the Galaxy in order to help them reach a higher level of development.” There was definitely a twinkle in his eyes. 

Tay coughed, although Selene was quite sure he only did it to hide a laugh. Oh, she knew that look. It seemed her brother was on the prowl. For a moment, she contemplated, if she should warn Opan, but when she glanced at the First Order Captain, she realized there was a challenging edge to his faint smile. He probably did not need her help. 

As the screen started to show the inside of the mining station, everyone stared at it in concentration.  
“You did not get anything from outside?” Selene asked.  
“No,” Tay shook his head,” only darkness from one moment to the next. I actually think we were very lucky with that one, it was positioned directly above the action and that is why we see more than just shadows. ”

“The action?” Hux inquired.

“You will see.” Tay and Opan exchanged a grave look that made unease rise up in Selene. 

There was something moving in the background of the screen. The Zi’daya heir frowned as three figures dressed in floor length dark robes moved closer to the camera. Try as she might, she could not see anything under those dark hoods. The only thing she could tell was that they were tall, a lot taller than any human was. 

The middle figure raised his or her arm, the long fingered hand eerily white, and hissed something in an unknown language, the words distorted. For a moment, nothing happened, but then one by one, people dressed in the outfit of the miners slowly shuffled closer. Their faces had the same blank look, Selene had seen on them, when they had been in the mining station.

“Stars, that looks like some kriffed up Sith ceremony,” Shima’s voice was shocked. 

“You might be quite close to the truth, Captain.” When Selene looked over at Hux, there was more than a little unease on his face. His eyes met hers. “Glad you did not go down there?” he asked. She nodded faintly. Blast it, she did not want to think about the fact, how close they both had been to death on this day. 

By now, the first person had reached the dark robed figures. And then two things happened at once. The figure in the middle threw back its hood, revealing its face and with a sharp gesture of its hand the miner, a stocky middle-aged man, was released from whatever spell he was under.

Selene’s heart felt, as if it would jump out of her breast, as she saw the terror on his face. For a second his captor’s face did not look monstrous at all, dark liquid eyes and elegant, lean features, their expression nearly tender beneath the gleaming, hairless head, as he regarded the man in front of him. But then the eyes began to swirl with the same darkness Selene had seen in Pa’lenna’s eyes, his mouth suddenly opening wide like a maw. The pleasant expression transformed into one of such terrible hunger, that she felt a primal fear go through her. Shadows writhed around the miner dragging him closer, the man whimpering, obviously too afraid to cry out.  
Then glowing blue lights flashed between them, the victim’s body shaking like a leaf in a storm, as he was rising up from the floor, suspended in the air by an invisible force.  
The look of intense pleasure on the attacker’s face made nausea rise up inside the Zi’daya heir. 

“Stars above,“ Elodia’s whisper interrupted the silence in the room, everyone transfixed by what happened on the screen. 

As the man dissolved into flecks of dust, drifting up into the air, and the other two figures lowered their hoods as well, calling a victim closer to them, Tay paused the transmission. His voice was deliberately unaffected. “It goes on like that for perhaps an hour. Then there is a change in their behavior…” 

“Trach, Mitaka, if you breathe even a word of this to anyone, it is straight out of an airlock.” Her Co-Commander’s icy voice made Selene stare over at him in disbelief. His face was completely pale and the way his gloved hand had seized the edge of the table in a death grip, showed her he held on to his control by a thin thread. It seemed she did not even need to ask him, if her theory about Snoke had been right. The truth of it was written all over his face. 

“What?” Masir seemed more incredulous than frightened by his superior’s threat. Briseis threw a worried glance at him. 

“As I wanted to say, there is a change in the behavior around the one hour mark…” her brother continued, as if he had not been interrupted, shuffling his notes around. The view on the screen showed the same three figures, but now a glass container had appeared next to them. When they drained their victims now, shining blue pearls began to slowly flow inside the container. 

“I was right,” Selene murmured absentmindedly, the truth still too shocking to really register.  
“It seems you were right about a lot of things,” Armitage’s voice was hoarse and when she looked over at him, she saw an abject horror in his green eyes, his pupils blown wide. Noticing his hand tremble slightly on the table, she had to fight the urge to go to him immediately. 

Kriff, this was affecting him deeply. But then she thought back to the day on the Finalizer he had told her about his time with Snoke. Even then, it had been clear it had completely terrified him. In addition, seeing the same thing that happened to him play out on the screen in front of them, must bring back all those memories. She needed to interrupt this.

“Ah yes, the theory that those are force users.” Tay seemed quite oblivious to the General’s reaction. “It holds a lot of merit. We also analyzed the blood you got from Trilla and while it does not match with any known species, it does show the same distinctive markers the Jedi all had. Only in a lot higher concentration. Now that is no proof, but…”

“Who has seen that footage?” Her Co-Commander’s voice was still rough.  
“Only Sa’onserei and me.” There was a peculiar expression on Opan’s face, as he answered his superior, nearly accusing. “We sent everyone else out, when we realized we found something.” 

“You don’t have to wonder. That theory about it being force users is correct,” the look on Hux’ face was defeated.  
Tay opened his mouth, but Opan beat him to it. “He was one of them, wasn’t he?” Selene was a little surprised. She had expected that kind of challenging tone from Masir, but not from the calm and collected Information officer. But then all of this must be quite the shock for the First Order members. “Snoke.” 

“Yes,” her Co-Commander stared at the table in front of him, his eyes slightly unfocused.  
“And you knew that?” Now there was real anger crackling in Opan’s voice. The Zi’daya at the table remained quiet, transfixed by the unfamiliar drama between their allies.  
Hux finally looked up at his officer, his face more troubled than Selene had ever seen it. “No, I didn’t. Not until now.” He threw a glance at her. “I mean Selene and I suspected after the Victorinox, but…”  
“And you judged it more prudent to share that information with her than your own officers.”  
Ooch, Selene flinched. To her surprise the General let the insubordination completely slide, just looking at Opan for a moment with an unreadable expression on his face. 

“Wait,” Mitaka’s voice was disbelieving. ”that means the Supreme Leader was actually a member of that race of … life sucking aliens?”

“Well,” Masir gave a sarcastic laugh, “that explains, why he always left all public appearances to you.” 

“Mmh,” Shima cleared his throat, clearly reluctant to interrupt the tension between the First Order members in the room. “Not to be disrespectful. But how could you not have noticed this for years?”

Hux drew his hand through his hair. “There is the very likely possibility that he used some kind of mind control on High Command. There are some instances where I remember feeling some kind of doubt, but then he always…” he trailed of, obviously lost in his memories. 

“Oh, then he used his powers on you as well? That’s interesting.” There was more than a hint of curiosity on Tay’s face, as he looked first at the General and then on his notes. 

“Tay,” Selene tried to interrupt, suspecting, where this was going.

“Because we still don’t know how they do that feeding thing. Is it only the life force or something else? Did he also feed on you? Mmmh, that would mean they don’t necessarily have to kill to feed.” Completely caught up in his theories, Tay started the recording again, at a point, where a doomed miner was writhing in obvious pain in front of his captor.  
Selene’s eyes flicked to Armitage. As she had feared, his face had turned deathly pale again, his eyes fixed on the screen, his breath shallow.  
“There seems to be something else. Perhaps the emotions, they seem to enjoy pain and despair…”

“Tay, stop it now.” Selene’s voice whipped through the room in agitation, but in the same moment, her Co-Commander had jumped up from his chair so forcefully that it clattered to the ground. He was out of the door, before she could stop him.  
“Armitage!” She jumped up as well, tearing after him. 

When she reached the corridor, she cursed. Blast it, he was a lot faster than her with those long legs of his.  
After hesitating for a moment, she decided to go outside. That was the most probable place after all. 

It took her nearly ten minutes of searching along the streets around the center, but she finally found him sitting on that small wall at Nebula square, his eyes unfocused, as he stared down at the city. 

“Hey,” she carefully sat down next to him. For long seconds Armitage did not react, but then she saw his jaw clench.

“You must think me incredibly weak…” he murmured, without meeting her eyes. “First I let this monster manipulate me for years and then I can’t even talk about it without losing it.” He swallowed hard. “It’s pathetic.”  
“No, it isn’t.” she put her hand on the side of his face, trying to get him to look at her, but he resisted. “Selene, please not.” His eyes closed, a shudder going through his whole body.  
His breath hissed through his lips slowly. 

“I’m afraid.” It was barely more than a whisper.  
And Selene felt her heart go out to him so wildly, it hurt in her breast. She let her head touch against his softly. “And you think I am not? Stars, I’m terrified.” 

He finally turned to her then, his eyes opening again. She was not really surprised to see more than a little wetness in them, their normally clear green color misty. Armitage bit his lip for a moment. “It is just … I know exactly how it feels like. To have those things tear into your mind. To have your whole self drained out of you. And I…I am not sure I have the strength to face that again.” 

She let her hand trail over his cheek, not dropping her gaze. “You are a lot stronger than you think.” When he scoffed, she shook her head. “You faced one of them countless times and your still here. That is more than anyone else can say. Don’t sell yourself short.” 

Her Co-Commander took a deep breath, visibly pulling himself together. “We have to find a way to defeat them.” Selene nodded. “I know.”  
“We still don’t know what kind of transport they used to get there. Probably some kind of starship. In addition, we have no idea how many of them exist. I mean, those three are obviously dead, however if they were only a small scouting contingent…”

Selene watched him, as he started to analyze the new information rationally, a reassuring sign that he was all right again. She was trying not to let her horror that there might be a lot more of those creatures out there show on her face. For the first time she contemplated, if there was even a way to stop them.  
No, she thought harshly, looking down at Ellesmee, failure was not an option.  
Rhea had done it somehow. And so would they. 

As another question crossed her mind, she glanced at Hux again. “Can I ask you something?” she said hesitantly.  
“Yes, of course.”  
“You mentioned that you think that Snoke used some kind of mind control on High Command. Does that mean…I can’t help asking myself, if your decisions in that time…” 

Hux turned very still, a coldness returning to his expression that she had not seen there in a long time, when they were alone. “If my decisions in that time were my own.” Those green eyes met hers, their gaze more than a little piercing again. “Or to be more precise, if it was me, who decided to use Starkiller Base.”

“Yes,” Selene knew, it was probably not entirely fair to ask this now, when he was clearly vulnerable, but part of her had to know. Even if they had never talked about the fact that he had destroyed a whole starsystem in the name of the Order, it remained a shadow between them. And the more she cared for him, the more it haunted her mind. 

“I fear I will have to disappoint you,” her Co-Commander’s voice was cool. “That decision was entirely my own. Snoke was even against it at the beginning.” He gave a sardonic laugh. “He probably bemoaned all the missed victims for him and his kind.” 

“But why?” Selene heard the nearly pleading tone in her own voice. She needed to get to the bottom of this. Because, if there was no understanding on his part how terribly wrong this decision had been, no remorse for all the lives that had been lost, there was no way she could really feel…

“It was a purely strategic decision,” there was a lot of tension on Hux’ face, as he continued, his eyes never leaving her. It was, as if he was waiting for a certain reaction from her. “While the Order is the mightiest military force in the Galaxy at the moment, we never had even a fraction of the resources the Empire had. If the New Republic would have been able to rally its own forces…It was supposed to be one decisive strike that ended the war at once.” 

“There were ten billion people in that star system,” the words fell between them like hammer blows. 

Something flickered in his eyes and he swallowed. “I know. But how many would have died in a drawn out war?” Hux looked away from her, his jaw clenching again. “I weighted the options and made the decision, as protocol demanded. Yes, the casualties are regrettable, but if this war is over, if order is finally reestablished in the galaxy, everyone will have a better life and there will be no need for any more conflicts.” 

Selene felt something icy go through her at his words. How similar to those she had thrown at Elodia this morning. But didn’t every war seem like the last one until the next?  
A vicious circle of strike and counterstrike that never seemed to end. And they were caught in the middle of it. 

“Don’t you feel even the slightest remorse?” she stood up, no longer able to remain seated next to him. 

Hux watched her, his green eyes having lost all their warmth, their color reminding her of cold glass. “So,” he ground out, ”that is it, isn’t it? Your morals are finally catching up with you and you are starting to realize what an awful mistake you have made. Letting a monster in your bed.” 

Selene gasped at that, despair welling up inside her. No, not only in her bed, she feared she was letting him into her heart as well.  
And if she had any sense left, she had to end this as long as she still could. 

But when she looked at him, she saw the stiff way he held himself, his face an emotionless mask. He had clearly put up all his walls between them. 

Because he expected her to turn away from him. Had probably expected her to from the start. Because he actually thought, she was making a mistake.  
And that told quite the story about what he thought about himself, didn’t it?

She should leave, she realized and not waste her hopes on some minuscule signs that he might be able to change. If she believed in him, she would only be disappointed in the end.  
But wasn’t that like everyone else in his life had always treated him? As a disappointment? A failure? Who had ever believed in him? 

Ignoring the surprised look on Hux’ face, as she sat down next to him again, she said  
“I told you once before. I have my own opinion. Would you do it again, if you had the choice?” 

Something shattered in his eyes then, the cold receding in front of her, being replaced by such a look of vulnerable wonder that her heart clenched. Elodia’s words from earlier flashed through her head: ‘He looks at you like you are the most amazing thing he has ever seen and he longs for just one little touch’

“No,” his voice was very soft. “The result did not justify the means in the end.”  
Selene had to suppress a sigh. Well, that was not all that much, but she would take what she got. 

She raised her eyebrow and changed the topic for the time being. “You were very adamant that nobody should find out, what Snoke really was.” 

“Mmm,” Hux frowned. “I actually thought I could use that information against Ren, but it might not be a good idea. Opan’s and the other’s reaction showed me it will probably only cause unnecessary doubts in the ranks.” 

Selene scrutinized him, feeling that she had to tread very carefully here. It was a little like that time, when she had nursed the Sabercat back to health. Every little step towards progress and trust so hard won, every misstep earning her a bristling snarl. “And what do you feel about it?”  
Surely, he had at least some doubts?

“While Snoke was clearly misusing the position of Supreme Leader that does not change the foundations of the Order. They remain true. Through order we will achieve peace in the galaxy. We will just have to concentrate on the fundamental teachings of the Order again.”

The General seemed to have caught on to Selene’s disbelief, because his eyes turned nearly desperate. “Because if not, then everything I have done is…” and finally she did get a reaction that showed her that he was questioning those teachings a little bit, his hand trembling on the stones next to her, a muscle ticking on his jaw. “It would all have been in vain.” 

However, it was also clear she would not get him to admit more today. Tank had told her after all how hard it was to even think of breaking rules that had been drilled into you for all your life. 

“There is no decision only what duty demands of us.” And if there was no decision there could also be no personal responsibility… Stars, even after all this months she had never really understood how insidious the First Order’s propaganda really was.

Perhaps she was asking for too much too quickly.  
But she had a sinking feeling they were already running out of time. 

Hux had to suppress a sigh, as Selene got up, saying they should return to the others. Going back to the meeting room and facing his officers and her crew, after his pathetic display of weakness, was the last thing he wanted. 

Not to speak of the things he had let Selene see just now. All his doubts and fears out in the open. There was still a big part of him that could not comprehend, why she did not turn away in disgust. “Because she is good. And she cares for you,” it was a soft whisper in his mind. 

But she shouldn’t. The fact had never been more obvious to him than here on Ellesmee. Seeing her homeworld, her people, the way she interacted with them, so full of life and laughter. 

He did not belong in her life, was only casting a shadow on her happiness. However,…his mind returned to last night. “Armitage, please I need you,” her body underneath his, her fingers in his hair, the way she had begged him for more. Kriff, he was already addicted to that feeling. He could not let go of her even if he tried. 

“Do we really have to return?” he asked.  
“Mmh,” Selene gave him a pensive look. “Actually, after what we found out today, there is something we should check out.” She pulled out her comms. “I will just tell the others to resume without us.” 

She reached out her hand to him. “Come.”  
After a few minutes of walking, Hux realized they were going to the very edge of the cliff, where Rhea’s starship perched.  
“You want to visit your ancestor’s chapel?” She nodded. “As exhausting, as it will be, we should talk with the Shepherd. There might be something interesting in Rhea’s old things.”  
“Exhausting?  
She rolled her eyes. “You will see.”

When they stepped into the ship’s entrance, the General saw that, while the outside still looked like a star cruiser, the inside had been completely cleared out, only the outer hull remaining. Directly behind the entrance there was a separated area in both directions, obviously holding the graves of the ruling family.  
Selene took a deep breath. “If it is okay for you, I would like to pay my respects to my parents. It has been some time since I have been here.”  
Hux nodded in assent, slowly following her along the corridor. Like in most places of worship, there was a solemn atmosphere in the air and he felt a little like an intruder. 

A simple stone plate marked the place, where his Co-Commander’s parents were buried, a beautifully painted picture on the wall behind it showing their likeliness.  
Elaine noe Sa’onserei and Bertrand y O’sera.  
Selene’s mother, Hux noted, had shared her daughter’s looks, her hair and eyes the same distinctive color, while her husband had slightly darker hair, his face holding a soft smile, as he looked at his wife, who smiled back at him tenderly. 

Standing in front of the picture, Selene’s face showed a deep melancholy. “Even after all those years I sometimes can’t believe they are really gone.”  
Hux’ hand hovered over her shoulder, unsure if she would even want him to touch her in this moment. “You were very close?”  
“Yes…although I was not the easiest child to deal with, especially in the last years.” Pain flashed over her face. “My last words to them were words of anger. And I always regretted that.”  
Hux finally closed the distance between them and slowly stroked her back. “I am sure they knew you did not really mean it.”  
Selene sighed. ”You know, I spent years of my life trying to bring the culprits to justice. But…in the end it did not really matter. It did not bring them back.” Her eyes hardened. “Although I suspect we never touched the ones, who were really behind it. Just those they paid to do it.” 

She took his hand and pulled him in the direction of the main room again. It was filled with rows of seats, big windows letting in the sun. Directly in the middle of the wall on the other end another impressive painting was hanging, dominating the whole room. 

The General’s eyes widened as he took the picture in. It showed a woman in a flowing blue dress holding up a shining stele over her head with both hands, several people around her in various positions of protecting her, the man next to her with a raised blaster. He did not need to ask, who Rhea was. The resemblance between Selene and her ancestor was actually eerie. 

“Rhea noe Sa’onserei and her crew.” Selene’s voice held a slightly weary tone, as she read the words under the picture to him. “And it is in our darkest hours that a lonely guiding star may shine the brightest.” 

“She looked very much like you.” Hux said carefully. Something about that unnerved him quite a bit. If those life-sucking creatures had it out for Rhea, they would have no problem identifying her heir after all. 

“Ah, Selene,” a jovial voice sounded out behind them, making them both turn around. An older man with an impressive white beard, dressed in a dark blue robe, approached them with a nearly glowing expression on his face. “Finally, how wonderful! Oh, I just knew it would be this year.” He beamed at Hux, his blue eyes sparkling. “So you are from off planet, young man? No problem, we are quite tolerant on Ellesmee.” He put his arms around both their shoulders. “Now, you are a little late. However, I might be able to squeeze you in that weekend after the Midsummer festival. We actually had a cancellation a few days ago…”

Hux stared at the old Zi’daya, completely flabbergasted. The man did not really think, he and Selene…

“Shepherd!” Selene narrowed her eyes, clear annoyance in her voice. “We are not here for a …” she paused, a flush rising on her cheeks. “Marriage ceremony. We wanted to ask you some questions about Rhea. General Hux and I are only working together.” 

For a moment, the cheerful expression on the Shepherd’s face wavered, before he looked down, one eyebrow rising up at the fact that they were still holding hands.  
Selene quickly let go of Hux’ hand. “Ahem, we are working very closely together.”  
“I see,” the man’s voice was amused. “Well, how can I help you then, my dear?” 

“We are searching for information regarding the time before Rhea left the Core Worlds.” Selene explained. ”I know there was some kind of conflict she was involved in, so anything about that would be useful. Any notes or reports, perhaps?”

“Ah yes, your brother asked about that a few weeks ago.” The Shepherd went to a wooden cupboard on the side of the room. “I told him we unfortunately have not much from this time. Rhea kept barely anything from her life, before she defected. But a few days ago I remembered something… there were a few old journals.” He pulled out a few old looking books with a frown. “Unfortunately, they are written in some old Core World version of Basic I can’t read, so I am not sure that is what you are searching for.”

Selene carefully took the books from him. “Can you read that?” She asked Hux.  
He threw a glance at the first few pages. “No, only bits. I was not really raised in a Core World family after all.” He thought for a moment. “Mitaka may be able to. He is from old Imperial stock.” 

“Elodia perhaps as well. Her mother was a teacher on Corellia.”  
The Shepherd cleared his throat. “Now, since those are priceless artifacts from Rhea’s time, I would be very thankful, if you did not remove them from the chapel.” 

Selene exchanged a look with Hux. “And if we would sent you two of our people to have a closer look at those?” 

“You want to leave Mitaka and Miss Brentiss here on Ellesmee?” The General asked a little surprised. 

His Co-Commander nodded. “We don’t have the time to do the research ourselves and I actually have another lead regarding Rhea I want to follow offplanet. We can leave them one of the shuttles with hyperspace capabilities so that they can return to the Finalizer, once they found out more.” 

After they had gotten the Shepherd’s consent and said their goodbyes, the old Zi’daya tilted his head, scrutinizing them with a beatific expression on his face. “You are sure I should not block that weekend for you just in case?” His smile turned very wide. “Or you could have an autumn wedding. I always loved those, so many beautiful colors.” 

“No, thank you.” Selene looked, as if she was close to exploding, as she grabbed Hux’ hand and dragged him out of the chapel. “Stars, that man…” she grumbled, as they made their way along the cliff. 

“He is probably just concerned about the succession.” Hux commented. Somehow, the whole topic rubbed him the wrong way. “Isn’t there some kind of pressure on you to continue the line or something like that?”

“What? No!” Selene laughed. “Deacon already took care of that.”

But still, she would surely marry at some point. Probably one of her own people. Someone like that dashing smuggler from yesterday. Some passionate Zi’daya guy, who would sweep her off her feet and dance with her under the stars. They would marry and have half a dozen children. And she would forget that he ever existed. Or even worse like that kriffing Hutt had said, she would remember him as a terrible mistake. 

“Why are you not married, yet?” the question came out of his mouth, before he could stop it. Because like last night, there was a strange, irrational urge rising up in him to have some kind of claim on her. The mere thought that another man would touch her was unbearable. Blast it, he just wanted her to be his.  
The thought burned threw him, steeling his breath away. It was inadvisable, completely impossible and wrong on so many levels, but still an irrefutable fact. He wanted Selene to be his not only for the duration of this mission. No, permanently. 

“I am not too old to be still unmarried,” completely unaware of the turmoil in his head, the fair Zi’daya scoffed. “But if you must know, there just wasn’t any real contender in my life in the last years. My last steady relationship was at university.” 

She gave him a playful look out of her golden eyes, her lips twitching. “I could ask the same so. No wish to continue the Hux line with some proper Imperial girl from the Core Worlds so far? You must be quite the catch in the First Order. All the other Generals are already married after all.”

Hux’ answering laugh was a little harsh. “Because that family name is so prestigious. No, same as you, I never met anyone to really consider marriage with. I mean, there was Lieutenant Kandia…”

“Wait,” Selene gave him a very curious look, “You had something going on with one of your own Lieutenants?” She whistled. “I did not take you for such a rule breaker.” 

“It wasn’t against the rules.” The General felt more than a little defensive. “It is actually allowed, if proper code of conduct is observed.” 

She giggled. “Let me guess there is some kind of official form for that in the Order.” How did she…oh she was making fun of him. 

“Very funny.”

“So is that Lieutenant Kandia still on the Finalizer? I don’t think I met her.” It might be his wishful thinking, but there seemed to be a slight edge to Selene’s voice. 

“No, she isn’t and you will probably find the story hilarious. After I promoted her to Captain, she very publicly dumped me. I was already out of favor and she obviously decided to cut her losses. She dropped some nice little hints that it was, because of my unsatisfactory performance in the bedchamber. ” 

“What?” 

“In a way she had not much choice. She clearly did not want to marry me anymore and since everyone knew we had been intimate her reputation would have suffered, if she had not given some explanation for breaking it off.” 

“Marry her?” His Co-Commander had come to a hold, the curiosity on her face making him a bit uneasy. Why were they even discussing his past relationship like this?  
“So you were in love with her?” 

“No,” he shook his head. “it was kind of expected since I had been sleeping with her for some time and well, she is a commendable officer, so I thought…”

Selene started to laugh. “Stars, you don’t really want to tell me you wanted to marry a woman, because she is a commendable officer.”

“A lot of successful marriages in the First Order are based on common values and goals…”

“Yeah, you know why normal people marry? Because they love each other.” 

He scoffed. “At least they think they do.” 

Selene froze, tilting her head. “Wait, you actually don’t believe love exists?”  
Only sentimental fools believed in love. 

“In my experience most people confuse physical desire or the wish to have some kind of belonging with the feeling…” 

“So my parents just had the hots for each other, or what?” 

Hux coughed, sensing he was treading on thin ice here. “Well, there might be some exceptions.” 

“Aha,” to his surprise Selene suddenly grinned, obviously deeply amused by something. She flicked his nose. “It’s cute.” “What?” “How someone so intelligent can be so incredibly dumb.” 

Selene stepped onto the café’s terrace next to the river, waving in greeting, as she saw that her brothers were already seated on the secluded table right at the water, they liked to occupy, when they came here.

“Oh, have you finally been able to tear yourself away from your Co-Commander?”  
Giving Deacon a kiss on the cheek before she sat down, Tay only received a frown. Yes, she had left Hux and the crew to deal with the supply topics, but she did not think his tone was justified.  
“Stars, are you still angry at me?” When Selene just continued to stare at him furiously, Tay sighed. A slightly annoyed expression in his golden eyes, he murmured. “Fine, I was out of line the other night. Satisfied now?” Her middle brother was as bad as she was at apologizing.

Deacon ignored the tension between his two siblings, his face lighting up in joy, as a waiter approached their table with three plates, mountains of waffels on each of them. “We ordered you your usual, Selene,” he commented, barely waiting until the plate touched the table until he dug in. 

“Is there some kind of starvation on Terenia?” Tay asked with a raised eyebrow. “No,” Deacon inhaled another piece of chocolate covered waffle with a blissed out smile on his face, “but I have to share with three growing children at home … and a pregnant wife.” 

After eating in silence for a while, Deacon finally looked up. “So,” there was a twinkle in his brown eyes. ”you and Armitage Hux. Can’t say that is something I would have expected.” 

“Tay!” Selene’s voice was angry. “Don’t look at me.” He raised his hands. “I did not tell him. He already knew. But then it is hard not to notice you two eyefucking each other all the kriffing time.” 

“Mmmh,“ Selene ate a piece of her own waffle, deliberating what to tell her brothers. Something that calmed them down perhaps.  
“It is obviously nothing serious. You know, more like enemies with benefits. No risk of any feelings getting in the way. Brilliant, isn’t it?” She resolutely ignored the whisper in her head that while that might have been her original plan that ship had crashed and burned ages ago. 

“Enemies with benefits?” Tay gave her a mock amazed nod, then he turned to Deacon, his voice contemplative. “How in the blazes of the universe does she come up with this bantha crap?”  
Deacon put a finger to his lips in thought. “Mmh, perhaps we should not have let her fall on her head so often when mum and dad made us look after her as a child.”

“Very funny!” Selene scowled at their antics.  
“No, really Selene. Let me tell you something. Friends with benefits or enemies with benefits or however you want to call it. It never works. Eventually there are always feelings involved,“ Tay stole a strawberry from her plate. “And believe me I am an expert on the topic.”  
Deacon chuckled. “That he is.” 

Their sister shook her head. “No, I have it completely under control.”  
“Fine,” Tay fixed his gaze on her. “So I guess you never cuddle? Not even after you have done the dirty?” A slightly disgusted expression flitted over his face. ”No kisses, when you don’t plan to have sex? No reassuring hugs? No deep, understanding conversations? No running after him and holding his hand, when he feels bad?” Selene’s mouth opened without a sound coming out. This felt like a kriffing interrogation.  
“Stars,” Tay shuddered. “Could you please stop that? I think I am going to be sick.”  
“What?” Selene complained. ”I did not say a kriffing word.”  
“You don’t need to. Your face turned all lovey dovey. It’s terrible!”

Deacon put down his fork for a moment. “Now, Tay…”  
“No,” their brother shook his head. ”She has done it this time. I mean, I tried to imagine the five craziest stunts you might pull during this mission, Selene. But my brain was definitely not imaginative enough to come up with this level of insanity.”

The Zi’daya heir crossed her arms in annoyance at her brother’s theatrics. “Aren’t you exaggerating a little bit here? It is not as if anything bad happened only because I slept in the wrong bed a few times.” 

“Oh, then I guess you have already planted the virus and just forgotten to tell me?” Tay’s accusing glare caused Selene to squirm slightly on her chair.  
“To be honest there was no opportunity yet.”  
Her brother’s eyes widened in utter incredulity. “No opportunity? To get into his quarters? Stars, you are sleeping with the man.”  
Selene stared at her waffles, a slight blush rising on her cheeks. “But it never happened in his quarters. There was that one time in the training rooms, then his office.. oh and the hangar…”  
Tay gagged. “Wait, are you on some kind of messed up mission to desecrate every room on that ship?” He got up. “I lost my appetite.” His eyes flashed, as he bent down to Selene one last time. “Plant that kriffing virus, sister.” 

“He spoke, never to be seen again.” Deacon’s voice was dry, as he watched him go. After a moment, he peeked at the waffles Tay had left behind. “Do you want those?”  
Selene shook her head, more than a little vexed by Tay’s words again.  
“Don’t let Tay bother you, Sel. You know how dramatic he can be.” Deacon slid over the still full plate to his place. “What did he do the other night, though? It is rare that he apologizes.”  
His sister sighed. “He crossed the mum and dad line.” Might not be fair to go and tattle to Deacon, but then Tay’s words had really hurt her. She could use a little cheering up. 

“What?” Deacon’s face was angry for the first time. “Stars, what is wrong with him? We never do that. Blast it, he can be such a little shit.” 

Selene scoffed. “Middle child syndrome. You were the prince and I the cute, little troublemaker; he never got enough attention.” 

Deacon laughed, but his face turned serious quickly. Despite her joke, he had obviously seen in her eyes that this really affected her. “Hey, you do know that mum and dad would be proud of the woman you have become, don’t you?” 

“You can’t know that.” Her voice was barely a whisper, pain constricting her chest.  
Deacon softly tugged on a strand of her hair, his brown eyes warm. “Yes, I can. Because I am.”

One single tear escaped her then, slowly rolling down her cheek. “You’re the best brother in the galaxy, you know?” He smiled, his finger wiping away the wetness on her skin. “I do try.” 

Something somber flashed in his eyes. “Don’t go through with it, Sel.” “With what?”  
“The plan. It will only bring you unhappiness.” 

She stared at the river for a moment. “I might not have a choice.”  
“Are you sure of that? Circumstances have changed, perhaps you need a new plan.”  
“The Resistance is losing, Deacon. It is the only way to stop the First Order. And as much as I wished it was different. I just can’t trust him.”

Taking in her brother’s skeptical expression, she wondered. “Why are you so supportive of this?”  
Deacon shrugged. “I fell in love with a senator’s daughter while undercover on a mission to destroy a Black Sun cell. Believe me, I know sometimes we just can’t help, what we feel.”

“Now, while I do admit I care for Hux more than I should, I would not go so far and call it…”  
Her brother interrupted her with a wink. “I was not talking about you.” He grinned. “You do know he has feelings for you, do you?” 

Selene had to look away, her heart heavy. Yes, but sadly it was not enough. 

“This is going to turn out like Corellia.” Deacon’s next words made her stare at him again, as he mentioned their last mission trying to avenge their parents. He had been against it as well, Mel already pregnant with Taran, but Tay and she had insisted on going through with it. “There are lines that should not be crossed. We did. And innocent people died.” 

“This is different. I will admit we took that whole revenge thing too far at that point. But this is about survival. And there are no innocents here.” 

“And who decides that, Sel?” Her brother’s face was calm. “Don’t play judge, jury and executioner for the galactic senate. No one should. It’s going to destroy you.” 

“The senate is no more. The Resistance…”

“Really? I think you will be surprised how quickly all our old Core World friends will turn up again, after you conveniently took care of the First Order for them.”

“Leia would never…”

“Leia is waning.” Deacon’s voice was sad. “And while Dameron is a nice chap, those vultures will eat him alive.” 

Selene narrowed her eyes at him. He was not wrong, but… “And you want me to come up with some brilliant plan that somehow solves this whole mess.” 

He smiled. “You are an intelligent girl, I have a lot of trust in you. The last thing this galaxy needs is another round of death and destruction. We need to remember that no one is a lonely star…” 

“And we are all connected blabla… please don’t cite kriffing Rhea at me. I so had it with the woman. I mean, she defeats the most evil creatures in the galaxy and leaves us what? Some spaced out advice to love each other and skip happily into the sunset. Really helpful. I can practically feel our enemies quiver in fear.”

Deacon raised an eyebrow at her outburst. “Or perhaps Rhea has already given you all the information you need and you are just too blind to see what is directly in front of you.” 

“What?” but with that last cryptic remark, her brother pulled out his comms. “Mel and the kids are going down to the beach. You’re coming with us?” 

Dopheld blinked tiredly at the book in front of him, the scraggly writing in it blurring in front of his eyes, as he tried to concentrate. Stars, Rhea had an awful messy handwriting. While the form of Basic she had used for her notes was actually not that far from today’s version, her small, nearly illegible words were a pain to decipher. 

He looked over at Elodia, who had just called over the droid they had borrowed from the Research Center, to copy and enlarge a section she found interesting.  
“Found something?” he asked.  
“Mmh, perhaps.” Elodia frowned at the book in front of her. “She is mentioning a few disappearances on this page. So that might be the right book.”  
They had quickly realized that the books were no actual journals, but more or less a place where Rhea had scribbled down some notes, everything disjointed and not making a lot of sense.  
Elodia sighed. “Blast it, it is back to a whole list of food supply on the next page. I suppose the weight of the potatoes Rhea’s crew ate in a month is not really going to help us.” She rubbed her back tiredly, stretching slowly.  
“But it still might be the correct book.” Dopheld tried to stay positive. 

Elodia gave him a smile, before looking at her comms. “Stars, it is already nearly midnight. We should continue tomorrow. We are not going to solve this in a day.”  
They had started their work this morning, coming here directly after the others had left for the Finalizer, setting up a small space for research in a separate room of the chapel. 

Meeting the energetic Shepherd who cared for Rhea’s chapel had been quite the experience Dopheld thought. He had never been asked about his marital status that often in one conversation. 

After locking the journals safely away, they left the chapel, Elodia throwing a look at him. “You want to come over to my place? It is not far from here,” she smiled. “We could have a nightcap there.”  
“Yes, sure.” Dopheld agreed, but his thoughts raced. Did she really meant only a nightcap? His mind returned again and again to the conversation he had with Masir two nights ago. 

Reaching Elodia’s apartment, after strolling through the quiet, nightly city, she let them in through the door. She lived on the ground floor, the entrance in a courtyard holding one of the distinctive jacinda trees.  
Dopheld noticed the warm colors she had painted her rooms in with a slight smile. It was very much her.  
“It is not very big,” she explained. “But I like it.”  
“It is very cozy,” he murmured, still not able to get rid of his nervousness.  
She told him to sit down on the sofa and got them both a small glass of Corellian brandy. Stripping of her shoes, she snuggled down on the sofa next to him quite comfortably, her head leaning against his shoulder. Taking a sip from her glass, she sighed.

“That was a long day.” He made an affirmative sound to her comment, absentmindedly playing with her black locks. She looked up at him with a smile and he could not help himself, bending forward to catch those tempting lips in a sweet kiss. But still, even when he lost himself in her taste, her hands sliding over his arms, pulling him closer, Masir’s advice whispered through his head. 

After a few minutes of kissing, Elodia let herself slide lower on the sofa, her pull a little more insistent, as she drew him on top of her. There was an excited shimmer in her dark eyes, her breath quick and shallow. “You know, you could just stay here tonight,” she whispered. 

Taking in the way her breasts were rising and falling under the tight blouse she was wearing, Dopheld felt want course through him hotly. Blast it, he just had to tell her.  
But what tumbled out of his mouth instead was…”I don’t think this is a good idea.” 

Elodia’s eyes widened in confusion. “Why?”  
Yes, why had he said that? However, it was, as if he was in some kind of panic. “I mean we are not married. Not even engaged. It is not proper…people might think…”

“What? That I am easy to get?” The dark-skinned aide had sat up by now, moving away from him. 

“No, of course not.” Dopheld began to realize, he had messed this up royally. He needed to make her understand it was only, because he cared for her, that he said those things.  
“I just don’t want anyone to think you are some kind of …ahem loose woman, because you just slept with a man.” 

“Loose woman? You mean a whore.” Elodia’s eyes were icy, when she got off the sofa.  
“I fear, you are around ten years too late for those considerations,” she ground out, marching towards the door to her bedroom. “Perhaps it is better, if I remove my immoral self from your presence then, to avoid corrupting you.”  
The sound of the door slamming shut behind her, hit directly into Dopheld’s heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh, so many feelings ;-)
> 
> I would love to hear your thoughts on the newest developments and revelations.
> 
> In the next Chapter "Rebel Heart" Elodia and Dopheld will continue their research on Ellesmee while Selene and Hux go on a undercover mission in Resistance friendly territory to find out more about Rhea's past.


	15. Rebel Heart

If you want to learn the true measure of an individual: Watch what he does to someone he believes is at his mercy. – Princess Leia Organa

Elodia marked a line specifying the delivery of a dozen kyber crystals to Rhea’s ship on the paper in front of her, before getting up and pinning it to one of the walls.  
“You got another one?” Dopheld asked, looking over at her.  
“Yes,” Elodia’s voice was carefully neutral. “That puts us at a total of more than one hundred kyber crystals being delivered to Rhea, before her last mission.” She stared at the papers arranged on the wall. “There has to be some connection there. Let’s go through it again.”

Dopheld got up from his chair, the expression on his face more than a little weary. While Elodia had mostly tried to suppress her anger at him, at least during the time they were working, she had snapped more than once at him in the last three days.  
The first day he had attempted repeatedly to apologize to her, but the way she had growled at him every time he said anything not related to finding out more about Rhea, had made him capitulate after the umpteenth time.  
Even the Shephard had given up his early tries to mediate between them, his blue eyes wide after being confronted with Elodia’s ire, when he brought them some cream tarts with the comment that they lifted the mood.

Part of her knew she was not really fair and should probably give Dopheld a chance to explain. But another part, the one that had made her lie on her bed for hours the other night, tears slowly trickling into her mattress, as fears and doubts she had thought conquered long ago had overwhelmed her, held on to her anger like a lifeline. 

Stars, it had taken her years after she had become a Zi’daya citizen to finally feel comfortable and safe enough to let any man become her lover. 

Because her experiences during her time with the Red Hounds had fallen under two categories. Those advances from other members of the Hounds she had to discourage harshly with the use of her knifes - and there had been a few times close enough that she had stayed awake for nights afterwards, too afraid to sleep.  
And then those during a mission, when she had been forced to play at seduction to get close to a victim. It had always left a bitter taste in her mouth and made her feel dirty somehow. 

There were some things she had endured to survive that haunted her still. Vertash’ cold eyes crawling over her body, his breath hot at her ear. “Oh, my little Onyx …”  
She violently stopped her memories from surfacing again. It was in the past.  
He could not touch her anymore. 

If anyone had asked her then, she would have said that there was a beast in every man, a predator that could not be trusted. 

It had actually been Selene that had offered her a first glimpse at the fact that there could be fun in an intimate relationship for the woman as well. The Zi’daya heir had just come out of a bad break up, when they had become roommates and had been in a rather wild phase of her life. The unapologetic way in which she had taken a lover, whenever she wanted, had made Elodia think. It was very clear that Selene was no man’s plaything. 

Still, it had been some time until Elodia had felt even half as comfortable with her own sexuality as her Zi’daya friends. And then Dopheld had made her feel completely unsecure again with a few sentences. It hurt that she just did not seem to be able to measure up to his standards somehow. First, her past as an assassin and now he seemed to think she had loose morals. 

She threw a glance at him out of the corner of her eyes. To be honest she felt more than a little disappointed by it. She had not thought he would be one of those men who had double standards like that. She nearly scoffed, as if he did not have his fun on some planet or the other during his time with the Order. 

“So, we know that Rhea was on some kind of reconnaissance mission with a Jedi named Mireil after the first disappearances.” Elodia pointed at the papers on the far left. “Then something big happened.” And the way Rhea had written the words ‘The cold burns’ on more than ten pages over and over again, before finally etching the word ‘darkness’ into one page so harshly that it had torn, had left them both with more than a little foreboding. 

Dopheld nodded. “And then the deliveries of the kyber crystals began and went on until the second mission, after which the journal abruptly stops. It has to be connected somehow. She must have found something during that first mission.” 

“Mmmhh” Elodia narrowed her eyes in thought. “Can you give me that drawing again?” There had been a sketch on one of the pages, which showed a swirling maelstrom of darkness, white flashes of lightning cutting through it wildly. ‘The light pierces the darkness’ was written underneath.

Something about it nagged at her mind. Then she remembered. Last summer Selene had shown her a simulation of the defense system Tay and she had been working on. She had been frustrated because the power source had been unstable, always getting out of control after a while. It had looked exactly like that. White lightning flashing through the air.  
And the power source had been kyber crystals. 

“You have an idea?” Dopheld asked, clearly having seen something on her face. Elodia looked up at the Lieutenant and nodded. “I actually have.” She went towards the door.  
“Wait, where are you going?”  
The dark-haired aide beckoned impatiently at her companion. “Come on, we have to talk with Tay.” 

Half an hour later they sat in Tayshen y Sa’onserei’s lab, Selene’s brother frowning at the drawing they had brought with them, his golden eyes pensive.  
“You don’t think it’s possible?” Elodia asked, not able to keep her disappointment out of her voice.  
“Nearly anything is possible, if you put enough thought and resources in it.” Tay murmured, his finger tracing the lines on the paper. “However, there is a reason why kyber crystals are not often used as a power source. While the energy level is impressive, they are just too unstable. To do so in limited space…” 

“But the Jedi used kyber crystals for their weapons.” Dopheld interrupted with a questioning look on his face.

“Yes,” Tay glanced up at him. “But unfortunately we don’t have the force to help us.” He took a few pencils lying on the table in front of him, letting them clutter together in a heap. “Now that is how the structure in an uncut kyber crystal looks like. Chaotic.” He arranged them again in careful lines. “And that’s how it looks like inside a laser sword.” He sighed. “But how to achieve that in a blaster…Perhaps, if we put in a reflector there. “ He began to scribble something on a paper. “We will have to remove the gas of course. Pedrick, get me Teresa here as quickly as possible. I need a simulation for this yesterday. And fetch those kyber crystals we have in storage, we will need them. ” 

Elodia could not help an amused smile appear on her face at the way Tay immediately went into development mode.  
“You actually have some kyber crystals at hand?” Dopheld asked, surprise in his voice.  
“Luckily, yes. “ Tay exchanged a swift glance with Elodia. Since those came from an unofficial source, they definitely did not want the First Order to know about it.  
“Well, if you don’t need us anymore…” she commented, determined to get the Lieutenant out of here before he could ask any more questions. 

Selene’s brother barely looked up from his notes, as they moved towards the lab’s entrance. “I will contact you, when I have something. Oh, and good work.” 

As Dopheld and Elodia made their way towards the Research Center’s entrance, she could feel his eyes on her. “So do we return to our research straight away? Or take a little break?” he asked after a while in a careful voice.  
“I will return to the Rhea’s ship. However, if you want to take a break for a while Lieutenant you are free to do so. I am not your commanding officer after all.”  
“Stars, Elodia. Do you really want to keep doing this? If you would at least give me an opportunity to explain.”

She sincerely wondered what there was there to explain about him essentially calling her a floozy. But before she could answer, an excited voice interrupted them. 

“Elodia, you are back on Ellesmee!” As the dark-skinned aide looked up, the familiar features of her younger brother greeted her, a big smile on his even features, as he made his way over to them in his lab coat. Tyrol gave her a warm hug, before tilting his head at her in question. “You should have told me you are back already; I was starting to get a little worried.”  
Elodia felt guilt rise up inside her; to be honest she had done so on purpose. She had wanted to avoid another argument about their mother with him. 

“I am only here for a few days,” she tried to deflect. “Lieutenant Mitaka and I are doing some research for the mission.” She quickly introduced Dopheld to Tyrol, who greeted him politely, before turning back to her, an expectant look on his face.  
“Well, if you are here for a few days, you should come over for dinner. Mum wanted to do that chili you always loved so much for ages.”  
Elodia bit her lip. “Tyrol, to be honest, I just don’t have the time…”  
“You mean you don’t want to come,” his normally cheerful face turned dejected, his brown eyes sad. “Can’t you at least try for one evening? It would make her very happy to see you. She has been worried as well.”  
“And I would have been happy, if she would have worried a little more all the years before.” The angry words were out before she could stop them. 

Her brother’s eyes widened. “Elodia, please…”  
“No, I have done my duty towards her. She is safe and well cared for.” Elodia turned away from him, signaling to Dopheld that they were leaving. “It is more than she has ever done for me. So don’t expect anything else.” 

“It won’t make you content, you know.” Tyrol said quietly behind her. “Holding on to your anger like that.” 

Dopheld did not comment on what happened, as they crossed the plaza in front of the Research Center, Elodia’s stride so agitated that the skirt of the blue dress she was wearing swished around her legs. Only when she turned into the street towards her apartment instead of Rhea’s ship, he asked softly. “Are you alright?”  
The earnest compassion in his big brown eyes made her pause for a moment. Blast it, perhaps her brother was right and she had a tendency to hold on to her anger beyond what was reasonable. And she missed him too much to continue doing so now. 

“No, not really,” she murmured honestly. She sighed, combing through her hair with her fingers. “You are right. We should talk.” 

As they stepped into her apartment a few minutes later, Elodia became unsure if it had been a good idea to come here. Just being here with Dopheld again brought back a lot of her annoyance unfortunately. 

The dark-haired Lieutenant sighed, his boyish face anxious. “Listen, I am genuinely sorry, if I hurt you with me words the other night. But you completely misunderstood me.” 

“Oh, so it is my own fault then?” Elodia could not help commenting with more than a bit vitriol in her voice. 

There was a little frustration on Dopheld’s features for a moment. “No, that’s not what I meant. I actually did not want to say those words.” 

“Then why did you?” Hurt made the Zi’daya aide look away from him for a moment. 

“Because I was afraid. I kind of panicked and…”

“What? You are afraid of me?” Oh stars, was this still because of her past? Elodia felt dismay rise up inside her. If he did not trust her at all, their relationship was surely doomed from the start. 

“What, no! Not because of you. More because of the situation.” Dopheld tugged at his hair in dismay. “Oh blast it, I am kriffing this up again. This whole being honest thing is a lot harder than I thought.”

Seeing his agitation Elodia took his hands and tugged him to the sofa. “Just tell me,” she implored. 

He took a deep breath. “It is just, you are so amazing. You are beautiful and kind and intelligent. I feared, if I told you, I don’t have a lot of experience with relationships, you would finally realize you could do so much better and…” 

“What?” She shook her head, completely astonished by his words. Did that mean, while she had been afraid she was not good enough for him he had agonized about the same thing? “No, of course not.” She frowned. “And what do you mean with not a lot of experience?” 

He stared at their hands for a long moment, a distinct blush appearing on his cheeks. “Actually, there has not been anyone before you. At the Academy, I was just too shy to even ask one of the other cadets for a date and afterwards… Well, being the General’s aide was a lot of work and I just never found the time for anything like that.” 

“Oh,” she stared at him for a second, before realizing that would only unsettle him. “I mean there is nothing wrong with that.” And there definitely wasn’t from her point of view. She scrutinized him, taking in the way his long lashes cast a faint shadow on the soft slope of his cheeks, the inviting bow of his lips. Stars, there was a certain thrill to the thought that she would be the first woman to share a bed with him. She could not help a playful smile appearing on her lips. “I don’t have a problem with teaching you.” A thought passed through her mind suddenly. “I mean unless you want to wait? Mmh for the right girl or something like that?” 

Dopheld looked over at her, a warm expression in his eyes. “You are the right girl, Elodia.” His hand came up, tenderly touching her face. “You do know? Don’t you?” He moved closer to her, his breath caressing her lips. “That I love you, don’t you?”  
She had hoped. However, hearing it from his lips was something else entirely, making such a warm elation go through her she could not help the joyful gasp that escaped her. She swiftly bridged the distance between them, her mouth covering his.  
When she leaned back after a few blissful kisses, he beamed at her. “I guess than means…” her murmured.  
“I love you, too,” Elodia said, ignoring all the warning bells going on in her head and just reveling in the joy she saw on Dopheld’s face. 

Jumping up from the sofa, she took his hand and guided him in the direction of her bedroom. “Oh, stars above,” he exclaimed, as she opened the buttons on the back of her dress, letting it slide to the floor, leaving her only in her underwear. She was quite glad now she had put on a matching set made out of white lace this morning.

Sitting down on the bed, she pulled him closer on his uniform jacket, her lips meeting his again. “Don’t worry,” she said, “I will be gentle.” she grinned. “Mostly.” 

Armitage Hux leaned back on his chair scrutinizing the young officer on the other side of his desk with an emotionless expression on his face not saying anything for a while.  
Predictably, Lieutenant Tosla began to squirm on his own chair after a few moments, unease flickering in his pale grey eyes.  
“In my defense, the things he said…”  
“I can’t remember having given you leave to speak, Lieutenant,” Hux interrupted him coolly, making the younger man swallow hard and stare down at the desk’s surface instead of continuing. 

After letting him stew a few more seconds Hux slid over his datapad, reading the report on it again. “Now, you are accused of attacking Lieutenant Higgs in the cantina yesterday, breaking his nose and causing several bruises on his rips. The Lieutenant had to be treated at medbay and will be unfit for duty for three days. He reported that your attack was completely unprovoked.” Hux gave the young Lieutenant an admonishing look. “Do you have any explanation for your behavior?”

“Unprovoked? That kriffing son of a …” Fury flashed over Tosla’s face, as he got worked up by the report’s content.  
“Lieutenant,” Hux’ voice was sharp. “Do you really think you are helping your case by insulting your fellow officer now?”  
The General already had an inkling what had really happened, but there was no reason to let proper protocol fall to the wayside. 

Tosla took a deep breath, visibly pulling himself together. “I am sorry, sir.” His grey eyes met Hux’ own. “The untruth of Lieutenant Higg’s accusations made me forget myself for a second. While I admit that I hit the Lieutenant, it was not unprovoked. I came to the defense of …mmmh a member of our allied forces.” 

“I assume that member of our allied forces was a certain Miss Be’amara?” The General’s voice was dry. 

A slight blush appeared on Tosla’s cheeks. “Yes, but you should have heard what he said about her, sir.”  
His superior could not suppress a sigh; he would not get around punishing the young man. “While I do believe you, that Lieutenant Higgs said something disparaging, I am sure you realize that resorting to violence was completely out of line. You should have ignored his words and filed an official complaint, if necessary.”

Tosla’s eyes flashed in renewed agitation. “I have ignored his and Captain Peavey’s remarks for weeks now. But he said it to her directly.” He clenched his teeth. “He asked her how much he had to pay to fuck her or if she was spreading her legs for me exclusively.” He blinked, obviously remembering, who he was talking to. “Pardon the language, sir.”

Stars, Hux thought, he should let Selene deal with the mess her crew was causing on his ship. But then she would probably promote Tosla and sock Higgs and Peavy herself, so that was probably not the wisest idea. 

“The thought that paying for it, is definitely the only way those two are ever getting any, might be a slight consolidation for you, Lieutenant,” he murmured. Tosla’s eyes widened in astonishment, a small smile playing around his lips. It vanished quickly, as the General continued in a much colder tone. “However, such behavior is not acceptable on this ship. Two months of additional sanitation duty after your normal shift and a remark in your file.” As he saw the young man’s dejected face, Hux raised an eyebrow. “I am sparing you from having to apologize to Lieutenant Higgs, though.”

Tosla looked at the floor for a moment and swallowed. “Are you going to inform my father?” The nervous look on his face transported Hux back in time for a second, making him remember the instances in which he had feared a report to his father. It was not always easy to have your own father in the First Order as well. Although Actos Tosla was definitely no Brendol Hux. 

“No,“ he said softly. “But I do have a word of advice. While Lieutenant Higgs was clearly out of line, your dalliance with Miss Be’amara is not a secret. And it will be mostly her reputation that will suffer for it. You should ask yourself what your intentions with the girl are.”

Dismay flitted over the Lieutenant’s face. “I like her a lot, sir. I really do. But if my father finds out…”  
Unfortunately, the spunky pilot was far from what Admiral Tosla would find acceptable in a future daughter in law.  
“Well then,” Hux nodded curtly, “you are dismissed, Lieutenant.”

The General had just finished going through the new supplies list, when there was a loud knock at his door. He felt slight surprise at seeing Major Cadwick pass through the door, after he called out to enter. 

“Do you have a moment for me, sir?” she asked, her strict face composed, as she saluted sharply. Hux wondered briefly, what she wanted. Since Selene had taken over all the Maintenance and Repair topics, he had not seen the Major all that often in the last weeks.  
She sat down in the other chair, her posture ramrod straight, scrutinizing him for a moment. The General felt a strange unease at her gaze, it seeming more than a little disapproving to him. 

“Permission to speak freely, sir?” she said calmly. Hux nodded slowly, now really curious what the purpose of her visit was. Was this perhaps about his Co-Commander? He had thought the Major got along surprisingly well with Selene, but…

“May I ask what exactly your intentions with Commander Sa’onserei are, General?” the question made her superior stare at Cadwick in complete astonishment.  
“Intentions?” she was not really posing exactly the same question he had just asked Lieutenant Tosla. “I mean, she is my Co-Commander and I expect our work together to stay as satisfactory as it was so far,” he answered with a bland expression on his face, hoping he had just understood her wrong.

“Ts,” Cadwick scoffed condescendingly. “I was married four times. I do know quite well that when a man looks at a woman like that, he does not just want to inspect the engine room together, if you get my drift.”

“Mmh, Major, really…” 

She did not let him interrupt her. “Now I did not say anything about your questionable conduct regarding Lieutenant Kandia. That girl was out for a promotion plain as day.”  
What? It had not been all that obvious to him and…  
“Questionable conduct? Major, I assure you everything was quite in line with First Order regulations and my personal life is actually not your business…”  
She raised an eyebrow, obviously not impressed in the slightest. “Well, one really has to ask oneself how that part got into the regulations in the first place. I suppose all those male bigwigs wanted to make sure they still could diddle their assistants without any consequences.” 

Hux had to blink, trying to save himself with something noncommittal. “The First Order is a place of equal opportunity.”  
Cadwicks’s dark eyes flashed. “Oh, don’t give me that bantha crap. That’s why there is exactly one female General and one Admiral in High Command?” She shook her head in annoyance. “And now, when there is finally a competent and dedicated young woman, who should have all the opportunities in the galaxy, you are going to ruin it for her by destroying her reputation because of your….” she waved at him. “Loose morals.” 

Hux could feel the first twinges of a headache starting. “Major,” he said a little desperately. “you are aware that Commander Sa’onserei is not even part of the First Order?” 

A critical look appeared on her face. “Well, I do hope you are at least working on that.” 

The General sighed. “I know you don’t really like me, Major.”  
Cadwick just scoffed again. “It is nothing personal, you just remind me uncomfortably of my second husband. Awfully stingy man.” She got up. “I just thought, as a responsible member of this ship’s crew, I should make clear that Commander Sa’onserei is not the kind of girl you keep tumbling in a storage room for your amusement, sir.”

She saluted sharply, leaving Hux with the thought that this had probably been the most bizarre conversation he ever had. He felt, as if he had been chastised by a very strict older relative.  
Still, the fact that the Major had commented on his and Selene’s relationship, showed that they really had to be more careful. Unfortunately, he tended to forget that intention every time his Co-Commander was close. 

Checking his datapad, he realized that he had a meeting with Opan next. Blast it, he missed Mitaka, organizing his own schedule was a real pain. 

The blue-eyed Captain entered a few minutes later, his face carefully composed, as he saluted and sat down. He immediately began his status report, his voice reflecting only cool professionalism. Hux had to suppress a sigh. It had been like that, since the revelations regarding Snoke down on Ellesmee. He was quite sure his Information officer was angry with him, stars he probably even had reason to be. It made an unfamiliar urge to apologize rise up in him. 

Not that he really would. After all, it was his prerogative as the commanding officer of this ship to keep his own council, but still…

“Major Cadwick was here earlier. You would not believe what she wanted,” he tried to lighten the mood a little.  
Opan just gave him a blank look. “She honestly chastised me for ruining Commander Sa’onserei’s reputation. Can you believe that?” the General chuckled.” Well, if Selene ever plans a mutiny we should probably watch her.”

There was no amusement on Opan’s lean face, though. “Speaking of our Zi’daya allies. It might interest you that I was able to plant a virus, when I was over at the Research Center in Ellesmee.”  
“You did what?” Hux stared at him in surprise. “And what if the Zi’daya realize what you have done?” 

Finally, there was an emotion on the Captain’s features. It looked a lot like annoyance. “Yes, it is kind of my duty as your Information officer. And I actually expected them to find it. The question is, what I was able to extract before they did.” 

He opened a file on his datapad. “Now, it was not all that much. But there were a few interesting flight plans to planets in the Mid Rim. Including a supply list that had some very curious components. Medical equipment, basic technological infrastructure. Nothing the Zi’daya normally sell. Now those planets are not listed as suspicious in our data base, but it would probably be prudent to ask my contacts, if they know more.” 

The General felt a strange unease flash through him at the thought of investigating his Co-Commander. “Do you really think that will yield any results, Tritt? It seems a little farfetched to me.” 

His words made Opan stare at him with narrowed eyes. “Do you actually don’t think I will find something? Or do you just not want me to find something?”

“What is that supposed to mean?“

Opan leaned back on his chair, a challenging look on his face. “It means that your little affair with Sa’onserei is starting to cloud your judgement. She has you so wrapped around her finger that you are not seeing what is directly in front of you.” 

Hux felt annoyance rise up inside him. “You are just kriffing angry, because I did not tell you about my suspicions about Snoke.” 

“And the fact that your own officers are starting to comment on it, is telling you nothing? Blast it, you promised me to be more discreet, Armitage.” Faint color had appeared on the Captain’s cheeks, showing his agitation. “You honestly want to tell me you left the morning meeting with her yesterday, because there was a real emergency in the engine room? Because I can ensure you, by now even the most oblivious person on this ship has realized you are fucking her.”

Opan’s words made real anger flash through the General. Sure, it might not have been all that professional to leave that meeting yesterday, but from a certain point of view his Co-Commander’s message on his comms could be seen as an emergency. He had been absentmindedly playing with it, Captain Peavey droning on with a boring report for nearly half an hour, when she had messaged him: ‘Get us out of here. I am going to scream, if I don’t feel you inside me in the next five minutes.’ The way her golden eyes had shone with desire, as he looked over at her in excited surprise had been enough motivation to have her against a shelf in one of the storage rooms in under three minutes. Still, he definitely did not like Opan’s tone…

“Careful Tritt, my lenience towards you does have limits,” he said in a dangerously soft voice. 

The blue-eyed officer did not let that deter him. “You are going to get yourself killed. And what is worse you are going to get everyone else on this ship killed,” he answered matter of factly.

The words made Hux pause, hitting a nerve. He had always known that his desire for Selene was a dangerous weakness.  
“I have it under control,” he ground out after a moment. However, he was not really sure, if he was telling Opan or himself. 

“If you say so. Perhaps you should learn to accept then that sometimes another opinion than your own is correct.” Opan had gotten up and was leaving through the door.  
That was quite close to open insubordination. “This is a kriffing warship, there is only my opinion,” the General threw after him, his anger burning up again.  
“And you were not dismissed, Captain.”  
Snapping at a closed door was not very satisfactory at all, Hux realized.

He tried to start working again, but the argument with Opan had left him too agitated to concentrate. He was deliberating, if he should take a break, when his comms beeped.  
‘I finally got that shuttle. If you are still insisting on coming with me: Be at the hangar in twenty minutes. Bring your blaster and wear nondescript clothing.’ Selene. 

As he quickly made his way to his quarters to change, he contemplated that protocol demanded he informed Opan and Peavey about his plans to leave the Finalizer. But that would only lead to another discussion about Selene’s trustworthiness.  
He frowned. He would just sent Opan a message after they had left. Perhaps he would get himself killed on this excursion, he thought more than a little petty, then Tritt could see, if Pryde, Quinn or any of the other generals would let him talk back to them like that without repercussions. 

When he arrived at the hangar twenty minutes later, his eyes widened a little, as he saw the old, battered shuttle next to the Evenfall. Could that thing even still fly? And was that muddy brown its original color or just innumerable layers of dust and grime?  
As he got closer, he heard two people argue quite loudly in Zi’daya from within. Before he could enter, Captain Shi’seko stomped out, frustrated anger on his face, his eyes narrowing at Hux immediately.  
“I would be very grateful,” he growled without greeting.”If you could try to not get the two of you killed.” With those words, he stormed off in the direction of the Zi’daya ship. 

Stepping into the shuttle Hux noted that it looked even worse in here than from the outside. He gave a suspicious looking stain on the floor a wide berth, as he made his way to the cockpit, trying not to touch anything.  
“Stars, where did you find this thing? At the local dump?” he complained. His Co-Commander was not seriously thinking of flying this stars know where?  
Selene, who already sat in the pilot’s seat, looked over at him. “It’s in perfect working condition. And what is at least equally important: It won’t stand out where we are going.” Her golden eyes took on a look of slight desperation, as she scrutinized him. “Unfortunately, I can’t say the same about you. Please tell me, you don’t really think that qualifies as nondescript clothing.” She gestured at his outfit. “This is all black again. Blast it that looks exactly like your uniform just without the General’s insigna.”

Hux let his eyes roam over her. She was wearing dark pants, tugged into laced up boots, and a tight white shirt, a worn, brown leather jacket slung over it, her blaster in a holster at her hip. Her hair was partly open, partly tied back into small braids decorated with wooden beads. Overall, she could have stepped off some smuggler ship or out of some seedy cantina without garnering any looks. Well, he took in the tight shirt again. At least not for not fitting in. 

“Perhaps you should have been a little more forthcoming with information regarding where we are going then. I did not know we were doing kriffing rebel chic today.”  
And it made him more than a little apprehensive. 

She got up and fetched a dark cloak from out of a cloth sack lying on the floor. Hux had to take a deep breath, as he saw how snuggly those pants hugged her ass. Stars, Selene did look smoking hot in that attire. Passing the cloak over to him, she stepped closer, reaching for his hair.  
He flinched, as she started to dishevel it. With a sigh, she motioned to the cloak. “You will have to wear that and keep the hood up, when we arrive. Doesn’t matter though, we would probably not have been able to hide that distinctive hair anyway.”

Sitting down in the pilot’s seat again, his Co-Commander started the shuttle, quickly communicating with flight control to get clearance. The General frowned at the worrying sound the engine made. It sounded as if something was dying back there.  
He sat down on the seat next to Selene, hoping they would not die as well in the next minutes. “So I guess your sworn protector was not amused that the two of us go on this research mission alone.” 

Selene’s face twitched, as she flew the shuttle out of the hangar. “No, not amused at all. However, another person would only make us even less inconspicuous. If we are lucky, people will think you are him under that cloak. He has been there with me a few times.” 

“So people know you there?” Hux inquired, more than a little curious. 

“Mmh,” Selene’s voice was carefully neutral. “You know Khendrik is right about one thing, taking you there with me, is definitely not a very good idea. It would have been wiser, if you had just let me handle this.” She had said that a few times before, but he had insisted. 

“Definitely not,” he answered again, making her glance over at him, before starting to enter some coordinates into the hyper jump. “Why?” she asked, “don’t trust me?”  
There was certainly a slight edge to her voice.  
Hux grabbed his seat’s armrest, as the ship started to shake violently through the jump. Stars, this thing was a deathtrap. “No,” he said truthfully. “That’s not it.” He did trust her regarding their common enemy, even if he was not foolish enough to do so regarding the Order. Whatever Opan might think. “I just feel, as if I have to do this myself.”

Whatever there was to find out about these creatures, he had to hear it from the source directly. Perhaps it would make it possible to finally shake off that bone-deep terror he felt, since watching that footage in the Research center a few days ago. If there was a way to defeat them, he could deal with this. 

Selene threw an understanding glance at him. “Fine,” she murmured. “But I want you to promise me that you will follow my lead, whatever happens. Remember, I know these people. I will get us out of there, if it becomes necessary.” 

Hux felt a certain suspicion begin to rise up inside him. Still, he agreed. “I promise.” He looked out of the shuttle’s main viewport. He recognized those stars. “Wait, are we in the Quadrilla sector?”  
His Co-Commander turned to the navigation instruments again. “Yes, but it is not our final destination. I thought it prudent to make sure no one on the Finalizer can retrace where we went by tracking us.” 

As she prepared the next jump, Hux narrowed his eyes on her, his voice more than a little concerned, when he addressed her. “Selene, where are we going?”

The ship tore out of hyperspace with a groan, a familiar green and blue planet appearing in front of them.  
Hux felt exasperated disbelief flash through him. “You are taking me to kriffing Takodana?”  
Opan would have a heart attack, if he found out about this. To say this was a security risk, was the understatement of the eon. 

“I told you it would not be the safest place in the galaxy for you.” Selene commented, not looking very worried. “But it is a very good place to get information.”  
Hux scoffed. “It is a hotbed for criminals, teeming with smugglers and rebel scum. And half of them want me dead.” Her kriffing recklessness would get him killed.  
Selene’s lip twitched. “Nope. More like around ninety percent.” She winked at him. “You should make sure that hood stays on.” 

“Wait,” the General said, “you mentioned you have a contact here that might know something about Rhea. How do you know this person?” 

Selene concentrated on flying the shuttle into the planet’s atmosphere, very carefully not glancing over at him. “There was a time in my life, when I frequented Takodana quite regularly.” 

“What?” Hux stared at her. “And why?”  
“Is that really important?” When he just continued staring at her, she sighed. “Fine. I told you before; my brothers and I were trying to get our hands on those that were responsible for our parents’ death at one time. It can tell you it was not easy. The hit was orchestrated by the Black Sun and getting people to talk about them…is nearly impossible. So at one point we went on a kind of undercover mission, posing as bounty hunters to find out more.” 

“You and your brothers were posing as bounty hunters? The Zi’daya royal children were playing criminals. For how long?” While the intelligence report had mentioned that the Sa’onserei siblings were suspected of destroying two cells of the Black Sun and a spice smuggler’s property on Corellia, there had been no information how they had done it. 

Seeing his incredulity, Selene elaborated a bit more. “For around three years.” she rolled her eyes at the shocked sound he made. “It was Tay’s and Deacon’s idea. They took Khendrik with them. He had already finished his military training.” She coughed. “Actually Brie and I stowed away on their ship, when they left. Grandmother did not know about all this of course, so we pressured them into letting us stay, by threatening to tell her the whole plan.”

Trying to process all this, Hux remembered something she had said at her parent’s grave. “You said, you never found those that were really responsible for it. Why did you stop then?” 

A shadow passed over her face. “Because there came a point, where we took our quest for justice too far.” Her golden eyes met his, pain darkening them. “There is a fine line, you know. Between justice and revenge. And we crossed it.” She closed her eyes for a moment and swallowed. “After dealing with the two Black Sun cells that were directly responsible for the assassination, we targeted the man who had arranged the contact between them and the masterminds behind it. However, he was careful. Had a lot of enemies and even more bodyguards. We never found an opportunity to get him alone. So Tay and I came up with a plan to rig his villa’s energy supply.” 

Her hands tightened at the ship’s controls for a moment. “We decided on a night most of his servants were scheduled to have a day off. Not all obviously, but we told ourselves those would be regrettable casualties.” She took a deep breath. “We miscalculated. His servants had a day off, yes. But they were having a celebration. In the villa’s courtyard. And a lot of innocent people died.” Selene glanced over at Hux. “So I don’t actually have the moral high ground.”

For a long moment, he did not know what to say. “I am definitely the last person in the galaxy to judge you.” 

She scrutinized him. “I guess in the Order, my regrets would be seen as nothing but a weakness? After all the target was killed, the mission successful,” there was a challenge in her tone.

Hux stared at the green woods moving by under their shuttle. “In the Order,” he said very softly, “there is a part of the officer’s training to cure you of any hesitation regarding a decision like that. It is at the end of the training. One of the final tests before graduation,” he did not even know, why he was telling her this, the words tumbling out of his mouth without conscious decision.  
“They put you on some planet, give you orders to gather supplies, survive a few days. There is always a bunker there.” He breathed in deeply. “And after a few days the attack happens. Some local wildlife immune to blaster fire. It is chaos. Everyone trying to get into the bunker. And then…a moment in which it becomes clear that not everyone will make it through the doors in time. That those door will need to be closed, if anyone is to survive.” 

Selene’s eyes were full of horror, as he glanced over at her. Part of him understood it only too well. “It’s probably the part I dream about most often. The sounds coming through the doors. The screams and the pleading of our fellow cadets. In our case it took hours until they stopped.” 

There was more than a little hoarseness to his Co-Commander’s voice, as she inquired. “And that is supposed to teach you what exactly?” 

“That in order to survive, to succeed, hard decisions are sometimes necessary. To sacrifice the few for the greater good of many without flinching,” he laughed harshly. “It is of course carefully rigged. The ones farther away from the bunker doors are always those with the worst results in the other exams.”

“Has anyone ever tried to open those doors?” Hux met her eyes. “Yes. And you know him.”  
He stared out of the viewport again. “Lieutenant Mitaka was stunned by a fellow cadet, as he tried to do so. It nearly cost him his graduation from the Academy.” 

Selene made a surprised sound. “And still you made him your aide.”  
Hux scoffed, looking over at her again. “Well, he is clearly a far better person than I am.”  
Seeing the pensive expression on her face, he could not help but ask. “You would have opened that door, wouldn’t you have?”

“No,” there was a surprising finality in her tone. “I am not suicidal.” Her face hardened. “But I would have made sure that whoever had done this to me and the others would never ever do it again.” And taking in the fire in those expressive eyes, he believed she would have. 

Selene grabbed Hux’ arm, dragging him behind a bush, as she watched the entrance to Maz Kanata’s castle. Even if there were still more than a few signs of the First Order attack six months ago, some stones visibly blackened by laser fire and a few crumbled walls not repaired yet, the main part of the castle looked surprisingly close to what she remembered. 

“Okay,” she told Hux, “keep that hood up and stay behind me. I will try to find Maz as quickly as possible and give her a sign I want to speak with her in private.” 

“And if someone does recognize me?” there was more than a little worry in her Co-Commander’s green eyes.  
“Then we will have to hope that the neutrality of Maz’ castle does hold,” Selene answered, trying to hide her own nervousness. While her old friend’s tenacity in enforcing that neutrality on her grounds was legendary, she was not completely sure, if it would also include the man beside her.  
After all, it had been under his and Kylo Ren’s orders the castle had been attacked not long ago. 

Seeing that everything was clear, they quickly made their way to the big double doors and stepped inside. The Zi’daya heir did not waste any time taking in the familiar lively atmosphere of the castle, members of species from all over the galaxy mingling at the various tables and the bar, loud music playing in every corner. She was solely concentrated on finding Maz.  
That turned out harder than she had expected, the cantina packed, although it was not even evening yet. It seemed the uncertain times had prompted a lot of people to return to well known haunts. 

In the end it was Maz who found her, the way she suddenly grabbed her hand from behind with an excited exclamation of “Selene!” nearly making the Zi’daya call out in surprise.  
Before the unique owner of the castle could add anything else in public, Selene swiftly bent down to her, pressing her hand. “Maz! I have to talk with you in private.”  
Her friend’s brown eyes widened behind her goggles, a sudden frown showing thousands of laugh lines on her orange-colored skin. “Yes, I can sense that.” She looked around. “And you have not come alone. Mmh strange, somehow I feel like I know this presence, but on the other hand not.”  
Selene gestured at Hux to follow them, as Maz showed them the way to a stairway leading deeper into the castle. Thankfully, her Co-Commander had kept his hood up meticulously so far. “Perhaps we should discuss this, when we are alone.” 

After climbing the stairs, they entered a cozy looking room, a fire crackling in the hearth at one side, a few plushy armchairs grouped in front of it.“How wonderful to see you again Selene, it has been some time.” Maz motioned at them to sit down, going to a cupboard at the side to pour three glasses of brandy. 

“Yes, the last year was crazy. I am more than glad to find you so well.” Selene watched the small female, as she brought the drinks over. Now, how could she introduce Hux without this escalating immediately? 

“I am more than a little curious, who your companion is. It is rare that Khendrik lets you out of his eyes. A shame he is not with you today,” Maz grinned. “I do quite like his strict demeanor.” 

“Now Maz,” Selene said carefully, “I want you to remember that you could always trust me and my family.” She steeled herself, giving her Co-Commander a sign to lower his hood. “I actually came here with…”  
For a moment, the small female’s face showed only slight confusion, before it morphing into such an intense anger that Selene moved without conscious thought, jumping up and positioning herself between her and Hux. And not a second too soon, as a blaster was suddenly only inches away from her breast. The sound of Maz’ glass shattering on the stone floor was loud in the silence between them. 

Selene met her angry gaze. “I see an introduction is not really necessary.”  
Those brown eyes narrowed dangerously behind the goggles. “You bring General Hux of the First Order into my castle?” Below the fury, there was clear disbelief in her voice. “Not satisfied with the destruction you sowed the last time, General? Or searching for someone who escaped you again? There are survivors from so many planets you destroyed passing through here that it is hard to keep track of them all.” She was leaning to the side now, glowering at Hux over Selene’s shoulder. 

“I ensure you Miss Kenata, I don’t mean you nor anyone else in your castle any harm,” the General’s voice was carefully polite. 

Maz gave a sarcastic laugh. “That would be a first.”  
“Please Maz,“ Selene raised her hands imploringly, her eyes still on her friend, feeling a little nervous at that blaster still aimed at her. “hear us at least out.”

“Us. That you would ever use that word regarding someone like him,” the older female stared at Selene in incredulity.  
“I will explain everything.” The Zi’daya gestured at the weapon in their host’s hand. “But it would be easier without a blaster pointing at me the whole time.”

“Mmmh,” Maz grumbled for a moment, although she did slowly put away the blaster.”I would have suspected him to have forced you to bring him here, but I feel no animosity between you.” She scrutinized Selene, her brown eyes sharpening. “No, on the contrary. The energy between you is sizzling with…” Her eyes widened. “Selene!”  
The fair Zi’daya nearly flinched at the accusing tone of her voice. Blast it, she had known that Maz had a connection to the Force that allowed her to see through people easily. Indeed, it was one of the reasons she had come here. However, she had forgotten to take into account that she might be able to also sense the extend of her feelings for Hux. 

“That one of Rhea’s line could ever sink so low.” The words made her bite her lip, a flush appearing on her face. She had always known how her friends and acquaintances all over the Galaxy would react to the news that she was involved with a General of the First Order, most of them were firmly aligned with the Resistance after all. But being confronted with Maz’ disapproval like that hurt more than she had anticipated.

“Miss Kenata,” her Co-Commander’s voice was cool, his green eyes on Selene. “while I can understand that your opinion of me is not the best, Selene has done nothing to deserve your ire.” 

“Oh, Selene it is.” Maz commented dryly, but she waved her hand. “Well go on then, you wanted to explain.” 

Selene breathed in deeply. “Actually, we are here in a way regarding Rhea. I know you two were friends.” She ignored the surprised sound coming from Hux’ direction. “We hope you can help us with some information about her past. Because we are suspecting an enemy she has been fighting has returned and…” 

“No,” all fight had left Maz from one moment to the next, the orange-skinned female sitting down on her armchair, as if in a daze. “it cannot be.”  
She motioned to Selene’s glass of brandy.”Give me that.” Swallowing it down in one go, she sat there with closed eyes for so long that Selene started to feel a little worried.

But then she suddenly opened her eyes again, readjusting her goggles. “Now, tell me everything.”

Selene returned to her seat and did so, her Co-Commander only interrupting her, when she mentioned that she was unsure, if the possessed at Venya station were really trying to capture her. “They were definitely trying to get you alive,” he said, worry audible in his voice. 

He coughed, as she reached the point of the latest revelations on Ellesmee, clearly uncomfortable with telling Maz the truth about Snoke.  
Selene looked over at him. “We do have to tell her about it, if we want her to help us, Armitage.” When he frowned, her expression turned imploring. “Trust me on this?”  
For a moment, he still hesitated, before giving her a curt nod, “Fine.”

So far, their host had listened without comment, her face unusual passive. Her expression turned pensive at their exchange and stayed that way until Selene had finished. 

Maz stared at the flames in the hearth for some time. “They call themselves the Shoyul.” A strange shiver went through Selene at the name. The small female’s voice was barely louder than a whisper. “And they are a plague on the galaxy.” Her brown eyes held old terrors, the shine of the fire reflecting in them. “Destroyers of life. Devourers of hope. Born out of the deepest pit of darkness.”  
Maz looked at Selene, her face showing weary resignation. “You are right, we have faced them before. And if not for Rhea they would have destroyed us all.” 

Selene felt a cold thrill travel down her spine. “But how can it be that there are no records of this? I never heard that name ever before,” Hux’ voice held a lot of disbelief. 

Maz laughed dryly. “Would you feel inclined to spread any stories of the Battle of Crait, General? We tend to conceal the proof of our worst failures, don’t we? And in that the Jedi Council was not different than anyone else in the Galaxy,” she sighed. “But I ensure you. The Shoyul killed billions in that time, devastated whole star systems. More than even you and your First Order managed so far,” a dark look passed over Hux’ face at the comment. 

“But what had Rhea to do with all of this?” Selene inquired. “She was only a Commander in the Star Fleet of the Galactic Republic at that time, wasn’t she?”

“Ah,” Maz’ face turned wistful. “Rhea. There are many stars in the sky, but some burn so brightly that you cannot avert your gaze, drawn like a moth to the flame.” A soft smile played around her lips. “We were all a little in love with her in those times,” she scoffed. “Although she only had eyes for Kyrill, even then.”  
At Hux’ questioning look, Selene explained. “Kyrill Tiraz. She married him later.” 

“It all started in the same way you experienced. A few missing ships, some of them being found completely empty. Then a space station we lost all contact to. The Senate sent out teams of Star Fleet members and the Jedi, of course. None of them returned. And then… a whole planet turned dark. Grand Master Lahru sent his own daughter Mireil to investigate and she was accompanied by a young Star Fleet Commander and her crew. Only this time things were different.” Maz’ voice was solemn. “When they arrived at Khashak the Shoyul were still there. They came face to face with the heart of that darkness. But in the end they let them go.” 

“What?” Selene asked. “But why?” 

“To understand what happened then, you have to understand, who Rhea really was.”  
“Stars, she was a kriffing force user, wasn’t she?” Hux exclaimed, more than a little frustration in his voice. “No,” Selene shook her head at him. “She wasn’t. I would know that. “

“Just because you are able to jerk something around does not mean you have any understanding of it. Too often power is mistaken for wisdom.” Maz’ eyes were amused. “There is more than one way to connect with the force.” And the small female in front of them was the best example for that. 

“As I said the Shoyul are children of the deepest part of darkness. However, there were also those touched by the light. Beings your ancestors called gods for lack of any other words to describe them. And sometimes there were cases in which those beings were more than a little fascinated by a human woman, if you get what I mean.”  
“Wait,” Selene stared at her. “You want to tell me one of my ancestors banged some kind of celestial being?”  
Her Co-Commander chuckled. “Oh, I can definitely believe that.” As Selene narrowed her eyes at him, he blinked. “The eyes, I mean. Really unusual color for a human.” 

Maz laughed. “Not only your ancestor, there are a few drops of that blood in many Zi’daya families. Although in Rhea’s line, it always ran strongest. Before Rhea guided them to the Outer Rim the Zi’daya were scattered all over the Core Worlds and the Mid Rim, but the myths and legends of their heritage were still the same. And there is a kernel of truth to many myths.” 

The Zi’daya heir frowned. “But how led that to Rhea being spared by the Shoyul?” 

“Your brother is correct with his theories. They don’t only feed on the life force of their victims, but also on their negative emotions. They use their ability to manipulate the mind to bring the most terrible moments in one’s life to the forefront. But to touch a mind like Rhea’s … it must have burned them. Scared them a lot.” 

“What effect had it on the victims? The feeding thing I mean.” There was a lot of tension in Hux’ voice.

“Ah,” Maz’ face did not hold any compassion. “He fed on you, didn’t he? The one who called himself Snoke. Blast it, and I always asked myself, why the darkness of the First Order seemed so familiar.” She shook her head self-critically. “I was probably afraid to see what was right in front of me. As to your question. Who knows? Apart from Rhea, I never heard of anyone surviving it. Makes one wonder, why he did not kill you, doesn’t it?” 

Looking over at her Co-Commander Selene saw his jaw clench, as he obviously tried to keep his emotions in check. “I probably had not outlived my usefulness, yet.” There was a little desperation in the dry laugh that escaped him. “Perhaps you are lucky and it has considerably shortened my lifespan.” 

That thought had never passed Selene’s mind, making her gasp and without considering their audience her hand bridged the space between them pressing his for a moment. 

The way Maz watched them both with an unreadable expression on her face, showed she had caught the gesture, but she did not comment.

Selene cleared her throat. “But how did Rhea defeat them?”  
Her friend remained silent for a while, before sighing softly. “Well, that’s the problem. I don’t really know.”  
“What?” Hux’ voice was incredulous. 

“She never told anyone.” Maz looked into the flames again. “As you can imagine the Jedi Council and the Senate were in turmoil after Mireil and Rhea returned from their mission. There was a lot of dissent about how to counter that threat. Many wanted to face them with the full force of Star Fleet and the Jedi. But the two women argued that it would only provide the Shoyul with more victims. Still, they were outvoted and preparations for an offensive began. However, they were able to convince Grandmaster Lahru to go in with a small team beforehand. Rhea had sensed something in her first encounter with the Shoyul that made her suspect that if they were able to defeat their leader it might destroy them all.”

“And was she right?” 

“It seems so. Nobody knows what happened there. Lahru commanded the mission himself, took his daughter and twenty of the most powerful Jedi with him. However, the only one who returned alive was Rhea. And the Shoyul vanished, as if they had never existed.”

“But she did not destroy him.” Selene said softly. 

Maz raised an eyebrow. “Obviously not. As you can imagine the Jedi Council was more than a little agitated. One of the Grandmasters killed. On a mission that was not sanctioned by the Senate. And the fact that Rhea returned alone. Before long accusations were made. There was a careful balance in the Jedi Council before Lahru’s death and the remaining two, Yoda and Veter, followed a much stricter path of the Force. While they had been contend to leave such individuals as Rhea in peace before, the fact that she was successful, where the Jedi failed, made them reconsider that stance. However, Rhea had faced a horror beyond anything they could imagine, she was not willing to put herself or her people under the Jedi Order’s supervision. She sensed in which direction it was moving even then. Harsh words were spoken. Perhaps even threats to make her divulge, how she did it. In the end, she told them that if they had a real connection to the force they would already know.” 

Selene breathed in. That had probably gone down splendidly. “And then she defected.” 

Maz nodded. “And took all her people with her.” 

“So,” Hux’ threw a worried glance at Selene. “that means nobody knows how she did it?” 

Their host met Selene’s gaze. “She might have left something with your people on Ellesmee.”  
The Zi’daya nodded. “We are already investigating that.” 

The General leaned forward on his armchair in clear agitation. ”But what if we don’t find anything? You just mentioned she took more than twenty Jedi with her to defeat the Shoyul. It is not as if we have any force users at hand at the moment.” 

Maz gave him a cold look. “Wishing you had not driven Luke Skywalker to his death, now? I guess, your Supreme Leader is not an option, seeing that he has been Snoke’s apprentice for years.” She scoffed at the disgruntled expression on Hux’ face. “No, we don’t have the might of the Jedi Order to help us anymore. But although Rhea did not talk about that day many times, she did mention to me once she wished she had not allowed Mireil and her father to accompany her. She said she only led them to their death needlessly and regretted it dearly. While the Jedi were able to fight the Shoyul in some way, it seems their connection to the force also made them vulnerable to their touch. Whatever she did, I don’t think it had anything to do with her companions.” 

Selene took a deep breath. While it made part of her freeze in terror, there seemed to be no other choice then. “But that leaves only one option. It must have been something that only Rhea could do. And since I am her heir, it might be the best plan, if I go after the Shoyul’s leader myself.” 

There was a sudden silence after her words.  
“Miss Kenata,” tension crackled in her Co-Commander’s voice, barely held in check. “If you would excuse me and Selene for a moment.”  
Before the Zi’daya could react, he was out of his chair and had grabbed her arm, dragging her to the room’s window for a little privacy. 

Selene nearly sighed, when she looked at his face. She knew that look of seething disapproval only too well by now.  
“You don’t honestly think I will allow you to go after the leader of those things alone?” he growled, obviously trying not to speak too loudly in front of Maz. 

The words made annoyance raise up in her immediately. “Allow me? I told you before, I am not yours to command, Armitage.” 

His eyes flashed. “Stars, could you act rationally for one kriffing time? You do not even know, if you inherited Rhea’s abilities. I have never seen you exhibit any special powers,” he scoffed. “Well, if you don’t count the ability to drive me completely crazy with your recklessness.” 

“Very funny.” She shook her head in dismay. “There might not be another way…” 

“No Selene,” he bent closer to her, his voice holding a harsh finality. “I am not letting you get yourself killed on some rumors and what ifs. If I have to pack you on a ship and fly you to the last corner of this galaxy to prevent that…”

Maz coughed slightly, interrupting his hissed words. “It might interest you that Rhea actually did leave me something. Said, it might protect me, if the need ever arises.” There was more than a little amusement on the small female’s face, as the two of them turned towards her again.  
She got up from her armchair and stepped up to Selene, taking her arm and pulling her closer. “I always found that the eyes hold a person’s soul. Don’t worry, you are Rhea’s true heir, I can sense it.” 

She gestured to the door. “Now, let’s see, if I can still find it,“ she gave Hux a sidelong glance. “I had to redecorate not long ago after all.” 

Their host let them down a few stairs into the castle’s spacious cellars. Grumbling to herself, she opened a wooden door that led into a large storage room. 

“Make yourself useful, General.” She gestured at Hux impatiently. “At least you should be able to reach the upper shelf, as tall as you are. There should be a wooden casket painted in green around here somewhere.” 

As Hux started to search through the shelves accompanied by more than a few curses and sneezes at the dust he found, Maz turned to Selene clearly intend on talking with her undisturbed.  
The small female gave the Zi’daya a contemplating look, before glancing over at her Co-Commander switching to Zi’daya. “Well, there is surely more to him than meets the eye.”  
There was faint amusement in her eyes again. “And I think the last time I sensed that amount of fire between two people was between a certain smuggler and his princess.” 

“What?!?” Selene stared at her friend, “No, I mean we are just…you know…” She felt a little embarrassed to tell Maz that their relationship was actually supposed to be only physical.  
Maz laughed. “While I can imagine that kind of tension translates quite well to the bedchamber, I am not blind.” She tilted her head. “You care for him. And he cares for you.” 

Selene swallowed hard, preparing herself for another round of damning words. Instead, Maz reached up and put off her goggles, her face turning regretful, as she softly touched her cheek. “No, there is no shame in having an open heart, my dear. There is not enough of that in the Galaxy. Don’t let anyone ever tell you otherwise. Not even a foolish old thing like me.” 

Before the Zi’daya heir could answer to that, Hux coughed violently, obviously having inhaled some dust. “Are you sure it is green?” He called over to them, when he could speak again. “I only see a blue one.”

“Did I say green?” Maz grinned at Selene. “I meant blue of course.”  
Hux frowned, as he made his way back to them, the casket in his hands, but did not comment.  
Selene watched with bated breath, as her friend opened it. “Oh,” she did not know what she had expected but certainly more than the around five inches long crystal sphere lying inside. “Is that a cyber crystal?” 

“Yes,” Maz nodded and passed it over to her. It felt cool in her hands, but apart from that it was not different than any other cyber crystal she had touched in her life.  
“And that’s it? She did not tell you what to do with it?”  
“Well,” Maz deliberated for a moment, ”only that in our darkest hour…”  
“A lonely guiding star, may shine the brightest.” Selene had to suppress a sudden urge to scream. Blast it, Rhea had been fond of that saying.

“Perhaps the meaning will divulge itself to you with time. However, this is all I can tell you.” Their host made her way to the door, guiding them through the corridor again.  
“And I do thank you for it, my friend.” Selene said, touching her shoulder. 

Maz turned to her Co-Commander. “You know, I met your father once, General. Horrible man.” Hux scoffed. “I would not contradict you on that assessment, Miss Kenata.” The small female scrutinized him for a long moment, sharpening her goggles. ”Strange. I just realized you must have your mother’s eyes.”

Selene saw Hux blink in real surprise at those words, something like vulnerability on his face for a second.

“Well,” Maz motioned at the stairs, “You better try to leave as inconspicuously, as you have arrived, then.” She looked at Selene with a serious expression on her features. “I wish you all the luck in the Galaxy, my friend.”  
The Zi’daya heir just wanted to thank her, when her face suddenly changed, her eyes turning bright, her expression strangely blank.  
“Remember, my child,” there was an eerily echoing quality to her voice. “You will never fly, if you don’t trust your wings.”

She shook herself, obviously coming back to herself with a start. When she pressed Selene’s hand one more time in farewell and smiled, the Zi’daya realized, she did not seem to be aware of her last words to her. 

Hux stared after her, as she vanished around the corner, a frown on his face. “What was that?”  
Selene shook her head, more than a little uneasy. “I really don’t know. She gets those premonitions sometimes.” She gave him a slightly frustrated look. “Would be easier to heed those, if they were a little less vague.”

He scoffed. “Isn’t that always the case with the Force?” He pulled up his hood again. “We should probably leave, as long as nobody else has seen us, and discuss the rest on the way back to the Finalizer.” 

When they stepped back into the cantina, they were greeted by even more noise than earlier, the atmosphere having turned a lot raunchier, as it was already early evening and a live band had begun to play near the bar. 

They quickly made their way over to the entrance, as suddenly one of the small Sullustans sitting at a table near the doors, threw down the cards he was holding in clear frustration, exclaiming something to his three companions. More than a little drunk, his pink skin flushed, he swayed on the too tall chair he was perching on for a moment, before finally losing his fight against gravity and falling backwards with wildly rowing arms, his jowls fluttering in panic. 

Selene watched with wide eyes, as everything happened in slow motion. The small alien falling, his hectically grabbing hand catching a fold of Hux’ coat, as he was just passing by the table, dragging it down and exposing his head.  
She gasped. “Oh, kriff!”

Hux had exactly one second to realize they had a problem, but it was already too late to try hiding his face again. The music stopped with a screeching dissonant sound. 

He would admit, there had been times in his live, mostly after an especially humiliating punishment by his father, when he had fantasized about silencing a room with his presence. Well, turned out it was by far not as satisfactory, as he had imagined as a boy, the sudden quiet in the room more than ominous, as every face turned towards them. 

The sound of a dozen blasters being drawn cut through it violently. Before the General could make a move for his own blaster, his Co-Commander grabbed his arm, hissing at him under her breath, “Let me handle it.” He did not need to see the intense worry in her golden eyes, as she positioned herself between him and the main part of the room, to know this was bad.  
She raised her hands in a non-threatening way, her voice deliberately jovial. “Now, let’s all remember this is neutral territory. Maz would not appreciate it, if we mess with her furniture.” 

For a moment, Hux hoped against his better judgement that she would get through with it, the tense atmosphere in the cantina not having escalated to outright violence yet.  
But then a cold voice sounded out from the direction of the bar. “Really? I doubt this also applies to First Order scum.” 

A man in his thirties with black, short cropped hair got up from his stool at the bar, slowly making his way over to them, dark eyes holding a cunning gleam. The polished armor he wore over wide shoulders suggested he was one of the many bountyhunters that liked to frequent Takodana to negotiate their next assignment, the well-cared for look of it and the state of the art blaster on his hip hinting at a successful one. The way a mean looking white-furred Gigoran and a battle droid bristling with weapons took their positions to his left and right, confirmed the General’s suspicion. 

“Sel, Sel, Sel, Sel, Sel,“ the disapproval on the human man’s elegant face, only marred by a scar through his right eyebrow, was playfully exaggerated. “Getting into trouble again, little kitten?” 

Hux could not help scowling at the overly familiar use of such a pet name for his Co-Commander. The way Selene tensed up next to him, told him the situation had just turned from bad to worse. “Darush Miari, what a pleasant surprise.” The falsely, saccharine tone of her voice showed it was anything but. It was very clear there was history there.  
“I would have thought you had learned by now this is not the place to collect a bounty. Fallen on hard times, darling?” 

The bountyhunter’s smile was razor sharp. “Ah, life is full of surprises, isn’t it?” He smacked his lips. “Who would have thought that after all those years of fighting for your people’s independence with teeth and claws you would finally bend over and spread your legs for the First Order like a common whore?” 

Hux was very sure the double meaning of his words was intentional. There was a collective intake of breath in the room at the insult.  
His own hand balled into a fist in anger at that criminal vermin’s insolence. 

However, Selene only scoffed, outwardly unimpressed. “Are you really still not over that lost pod-race, Miari? Stars, it has been over eight years, you have to move on at some point.”

“You cost me fifty thousand credits, woman. Not so easy to forget.” Miari’s dark eyes narrowed, his smile turning suggestive. “As for being over something. I recall quite well, how you loved to be under me at that time. I did know how to make you purr, didn’t I kitten?” 

What? Hux threw an incredulous glance at his Co-Commander. However, the annoyance flashing over Selene’s face, before she schooled it into careful indifference again, showed that there seemed be some truth to the bountyhunter’s claim they had been intimate.

She raised her eyebrow and commented dryly, “You are sure it was purring and not snoring you heard?” making half the room laugh and Miari’s expression turn thunderous.  
While Hux would have loved to applaud her spunk, he was not sure, if insulting the man’s prowess in the bedchamber, when they were outnumbered like that, was the wisest course of action. 

And indeed the bountyhunter’s hand strayed to his blaster, slowly stroking it. “Do you know how high the bounty for his head is?” He tilted his head, addressing the whole room. “Two million credits.” He smiled at Hux coldly. “You made a lot of people very angry, General Hux.” 

Really? He had never kept track of these things. Kriff, they were not getting out of here alive. Most people would sell their own mother ten times over for that amount of credits. 

He felt Selene take a deep breath next to him. She straightened, her voice turning deceptively pleasant. “Is that so? Well, if anyone thinks of collecting that bounty, they should be aware of one thing.” She led her gaze wander through the room, her tone icy now. “I will call blood prize on anyone who tries.” 

Her words sent the room into surprised hisses and whispers, obviously holding a meaning Hux did not fully understand. Blast it, he did not know enough about those criminals’ customs. But he suspected his Co-Commander had just done something reckless again. 

“What?” There was angry disbelief on Miari’s dark features, the Gigoran giving a low growl. “The Zi’daya align themselves with the First Order, now?” 

“No,” indecision flickered in Selene’s eyes for a split second, before they hardened, some kind of decision made. “You misunderstood me. Armitage Hux is under my personal protection.” 

If the cantina had been in turmoil before it was nothing to the reaction that followed that sentence, shouts and comments in a dozen different languages sounding out. Not that Hux really heard them, he was too busy staring at his Co-Commander in shocked astonishment. Because even, if he did not understand all the implications of her statement, he realized that she just very publicly bound her fate to his. And the sudden paleness of her skin showed him that she knew quite well what she had done. 

“Selene…” he murmured. She shook her head at him. “Not now.” Before he could add anything else, a dark shadow moved towards them, a sibilant hiss of “Then you die with him,” the only warning they got. The General moved without thinking, his arm coming up to protect his face instinctually, as he pushed Selene out of danger. 

White-hot pain seared through it, as razor-sharp claws raked over him, shredding his jacket and the skin underneath. Glowing yellow eyes and green scales filled his vision for a second, those claws aiming for his throat next, as suddenly a blaster shot rang out, throwing his assailant back, clutching at his injured shoulder.  
His Co-Commander had her blaster up, aiming it at the Barabel’s head now, her golden eyes blazing, a fierce expression on her face.  
While his blaster-proof scales had protected the reptilian alien somewhat, it seemed the Zi’daya blasters were strong enough to do some harm.

“What illustrious company we have here tonight,” Selene ground out, glancing over at the whole table of Barabels in the corner. Half of them had jumped up as well, although their leader, an at least seven feet tall male wearing an elaborate helmet, remained seated.  
“Tzaa Ki’tzirii, call back your warrior or his brain will decorate the wall next.” 

Stars, did she know every mercenary in the galaxy personally?

“What in the blazes of the galaxy are you all doing?” Maz Kanata’s angry voice cut through the tense atmosphere. The small female had stepped back into the cantina. “This castle is neutral ground and no place to collect a bounty, however high it might be.” She glared at Miari and the reptilian warriors, shaking the blast rifle she was carrying threateningly.

Selene threw a questioning look towards Hux from out of the corner of her eyes, while everyone was occupied with Kenata. He shook his head slightly. While he could feel blood dripping down his arm to the floor and the pain made him clench his teeth, the slow flow of it told him, that the Barabel’s attack had not injured anything vital. He could deal with it for the time being. 

“The Barabel respect that neutrality as they always have.” Tzaa Ki’tzirii’s sibilant accent made his words hard to understand, his reptilian face solemn. “However, there are no laws above the way of the warrior. And that calls for revenge. Tzi’kirii’s brother has been killed on Hosnian Prime.” 

The injured Barabel hissed threateningly at those words, showing a mouth full of pointy, wicked looking teeth. Selene’s face hold a lot of frustration, as she glanced at Hux. She probably thought he was responsible for the whole mess they found themselves in.  
He nearly sighed. She was not wrong after all. 

However, his Co-Commander addressed the Barabel leader again. “May he hunt with his ancestors eternally.” She raised an eyebrow. “Although, he died a warrior’s death. Revenge is not called in war.” 

Tzaa Ki’tzirii slowly got up from his seat, stepping closer to them, his tail swishing over the floor behind him. “You know our customs well, Selene. But that only applies to conflicts with another warlord. We have not granted the First Order that status. They are cowards and …” he added a word in his own language, spitting on the floor. 

Selene’s face showed that she could not believe she was doing this, but she gestured at Hux with her free hand. “Well, General Hux won many battles for the First Order and he constructed Starkiller Base himself. I always thought the Barabel valued the mind as well as the fist.” There was more than a little reluctance on her features, as she continued. “You cannot deny it was a mighty weapon.” 

Tzaa Ki’tzirii made a pensive sound, slowly walking around them, scrutinizing the General out of shrewd yellow eyes. “You are not wrong, my friend. And he is taking the pain like a real warrior.”  
By now Hux could not quite feel his arm any more and there were flickering shadows drifting into his vision from the blood loss, but he tried to keep his expression adequately unimpressed. 

“I do value you opinion, Selene. But it takes more to be a warlord than a few battles won. You vouch for him?”  
The Zi’daya nodded and said something in the Barabel’s sibilant language.  
“Mmh, I do wonder why.” Tzaa Ki’tzirii asked her a question in the same language.

Selene smiled and put down her blaster. Her expression very cheeky, she grinned widely and canted her hip, adding another comment in the alien tongue.

It made nearly the whole cantina explode in laughter and catcalls. Miari made a disgusted face, while Tzaa Ki’tzirii laughed the hissing laugh of his people, giving Hux such an enthusiastic pat on his back that he nearly sent him to the floor.  
Blast it, the Order really had to think over that stance on certain alien languages.

“Maz!” the Barabel called out, “bring us something to drink!”

A few minutes later they found themselves at the reptilian people’s table, a half empty bottle of Corellian Brandy in front of them and Hux was fighting not to throw up after having been forced to drink two shots on a nearly empty stomach that was already churning from his injury.  
The Barabel, whose brother had died in the Hosnian system had grumbled a little, but was now nursing a drink as well. 

Deep breaths, Hux thought a little hysterically, just one after the other, as he watched the blood still dripping slowly on the table from the gashes in his arm. Thankfully, Tzaa Ki’tzirii seemed mostly interested in talking with Selene in his own language and he was not expected to join into their conversation.

There was a worried look in his Co-Commander’s eyes, as she glanced over at him. “We should deal with that,” she murmured. He supposed he appeared rather pale, because she got up and unceremoniously ripped of the lower part of her shirt, exposing her firm stomach and starting to wrap it around his arm. Obviously, he had bled out enough to prove his fierce warrior status.  
He rather avoided thinking about the fact that this was far from sanitary wound treatment. 

The Barabels leader’s face twitched into something that passed for a smile for his species. “You will carry the scars to remind you of this blissful day for many cycles to come, General Hux.”  
Yes wonderful, he was overjoyed. He just hoped he would not lose that arm. 

Tzaa Ki’tzirii turned to Selene and motioned to Miari and his companions at the bar. “He will follow you when you try to leave,” he hissed. “As will some of the others.”  
Selene bit her lip for a moment, before she grinned at the reptilian leader. “You might be up for a little diversion?”  
The Barabel showed his gleaming teeth. “For you, bright star, always. I have not forgotten your help on Dev IV.”  
He gave a sign to one of his warriors, who immediately got up and stumbled in the direction of the bar, his steps exaggeratedly drunken.

His Co-Commander did not wait to see, how this would turn out, nodding to Kenata, who had hovered behind the bar close to them with her blast rifle, obviously not trusting her other customers to leave them in peace and leaning close to him. “Can you run?” 

He met her eyes. “Not much choice, isn’t there?” Her hand closed around his uninjured one. “No,” she answered. And then they were off, shouts and growls exploding at the bar behind them, as they used the chaos to make for the door, the room spinning terrifyingly around Hux, the only stable thing Selene’s hand in his. 

The fresh evening air in his face, as they stormed outside, made him stumble and nearly fall, the Zi’daya’s quick reflexes the only thing preventing it. “We have to get to the shuttle.” He dimly remembered they had parked it somewhere at the edge of the forest.

In the next minutes their surroundings flashed by in a dizzying blur, his whole being concentrated on nothing else but getting one foot in front of the other.  
Suddenly a blaster shot sizzled past them, making his Co-Commander swerve to the right and drag him behind a crumbled wall. Hux leaned against it, closing his eyes for a moment and trying to catch his breath. 

“Selene.” Darush Miari’s voice rang out behind them, suppressed anger still audible in it. “Leaving so soon? You forgot to give me a goodbye kiss.” 

“Kriff! I should have shot that son of a bantha years ago.” Even in the twilight, the General could see the frustration on Selene’s face, as she readjusted her blaster in her hand.

“You know, this does seem kind of personal,” he commented softly.

She gave him a look. “Really? You don’t think they are after us, because you have a kriffing bounty of two million credits on you head?” She frowned. “A fact you might have mentioned to me at some point.” 

“Here kitty, kitty, kitty. Where are you?” the bountyhunter and his companions had obviously missed, where exactly they had vanished to. 

“What is it with the kriffing kitten thing?” Hux asked, trying to draw his own blaster, his hand slippery with blood.

Selene looked over at him in surprise. “You don’t know the Zi’daya song?” 

Before he could answer, another shot rang out accompanied by Maz Kanata’s angry voice. “Miari, you are still on my grounds.” Hux saw Selene’s eyes narrow in determination, as she quickly leaned around the wall, sending out a shot of her own.

A pained shout and a lot of very colorful curses signalled that she had hit her mark. Selene whooped and laughed, before grabbing Hux’ hand and starting to run again. 

“You got him?”  
“Directly in the ass.” She chuckled. “I was actually aiming somewhere else, but he was turning around to Maz.” 

Hux shuddered. “You can be a very vindictive woman.” Selene winked at him, as their shuttle came into view. “Never forget that.”

The General felt more than a little relief, as they stumbled into the ship. Selene immediately jumped into the pilot’s seat, starting the engine. “Buggle up,” she commented. “I fear this is going to be a rough ride.” 

He fought with the straps for a moment, before he was able to close them with one hand. And not a second too early, as Selene forced the ship into a nearly vertical take-off, the sudden acceleration pressing him into his seat. 

“Kriff,” she murmured, “we already have a welcome committee” And indeed, they were greeted by laser fire the moment they cleared the trees, making her bank to the side in an evasive maneuver. The next minutes were chaos, Selene flying like a maniac, the shuttle swerving and rolling in every direction, as she evaded the enemy fire of first two and then four other ships. 

Hux held on to his seat’s arms for dear life, trying not to pass out, as their ship groaned and shook with every hit they sustained.  
“Can’t you put up the kriffing shields?” he called out. His Co-Commander scoffed. “I got this shuttle on a very short notice. Do you really think we have shields?”  
“What?”  
“I did not expect it to turn into that kind of mission,” she explained. 

The General’s eyes widened as two more sleek bountyhunter ships emerged out of the dark clouds ahead of them. “Kriff,” Selene cursed. “There are too many to lose them.”  
And, Hux thought in annoyance, no one is flying a rust bucket like we are.  
“We will have to make a break for it.” 

“Make a break for it?” He saw her reach for the hyper jump. “Wait, you can’t jump in the lower atmosphere.” 

“Not yet,” she answered with a grin, pushing in some coordinates with one hand, while simultaneously pulling the ship into another steep ascend. “Come on.” She murmured, her eyes on the instruments. The ship shook, an alarm blaring, as they were hit again. “Just a little bit more.” By now, everything around them was vibrating violently, the engine roaring, as if it was in its death throws. “Now.” Selene made the jump, the galaxy flashing by in hyper speed. 

When they came out of it, Hux stared at the stars around them for a long moment. They were kind of beautiful, weren’t they?

“Are you okay?” his Co-Commander exclaimed in concern, putting on autopilot and climbing out of her seat. She went to fetch a first aid kit and kneeled down beside him, reaching for his arm. Her makeshift bandage from earlier was already soaked through with his blood again. 

He stared down on her head, as she started to disinfect the wounds, flinching here and there at the pain. “Are you trying to get me killed on purpose? There is a two million credit bounty on my head after all.”  
She looked up at him under her lashes, a twinkle in her eyes. “Yeah, very smart. How would I collect that bounty, if I got myself blown up with you?” 

Selene scrutinized the wounds “Most of them don’t seem too bad, but that one looks like he actually hit the bone. You should have Doctor Kline examine it, when we get back to the Finalizer.” She started to smear some gel on his arm. “Just something for the pain, before I put on the bacta.” Her eyes were chastising, as she glanced at him again. “You should have told me how bad it was.” Hux shook his head. “I am used to a little pain. And we were out of options.”

She frowned and finished treating the wound. Getting up again, she leaned closer to him, her fingers trailing along his face. “How is your head? Still dizzy? You lost a lot of blood.”  
“Mmhh” now that they were out of danger, he felt the excitement from before morph into something else at having her so close. “I don’t know. I think you will have to check.”  
Her golden eyes slid to his, amusement shining in them. “Ah, glad to be still alive?” 

“Definitely,” he buried his hand in her hair, dragging her lips to his. Her mouth opened for him immediately, his tongue tangling with hers wildly, as he pulled her on his lap. Stars, he never felt as intensely alive as he did now, her body against his, desire a wild blaze burning through him.  
As their kisses turned even more passionate, his hand moved over her stomach, reaching for the hem of her shirt. Unfortunately, he jostled his wound in the process, not able to suppress a pained groan.  
Selene moved back immediately, breathing in deeply. “You are hurt. This is not a good idea.” While part of him wanted to protest that it did not matter, she was probably right. 

Trying to calm his heartrate down, he watched her, as she sat down on the pilot’s seat again, a slight flush on her face. “Speaking of bad ideas, was it wise to tell a whole room of criminals that I am under your personal protection?”  
Hux saw his Co-Commander freeze, her expression uneasy, as she stared out of the shuttle’s viewport. “It was not, as if we had much choice,” she commented softly.

“What does that it mean to call bloodprize?” he asked, scrutinizing her. She sighed, still not looking over at him. “Is this really necessary?”  
“Mmh, yes? Since it involves me I think I have a right to know what it means.”  
“Stars,” she gave him an annoyed look. “While normally a bounty hunter will go after a target for money, blood prize signifies that you do so for personal reasons.” She fiddled with the shuttle’s controls for a moment. “A normal bounty hunt might be stopped, if it gets too dangerous. But blood prize means you will see it through to the end no matter what, whatever the cost. It’s a very serious threat.”

“Wait? So you told everyone you would come after them, if they touched me?” Hux stared at her feeling something between disbelief and terror. And a strange sort of elation, he tried to suppress. He did definitely not like it that she was threatening people for his sake, did he? 

“You would have preferred it, if I had just stepped back and let them have a go at you?”  
“No,” he just tried to make sense of it. “It seemed like everyone was shocked by it. I guess it is not done often?” 

Selene avoided his gaze again. “Not often no.”  
“Because you would only do it for someone you are close to?”  
She pressed her lips together in anger for a moment. “Stars, why can you never let things rest, blast it? You would only do it for a family member, a very close friend or…”  
She glared at him. “A lover. So, are you kriffing satisfied now?” 

Hux stared at her, his thoughts racing. For a moment, he was tempted to ask her, if he was her lover. But something made him hesitate. Because he was not sure, what he wanted her to answer. They had agreed that anything between them was only physical after all. However, he was quite aware that most of the lines between them had blurred into nothingness. 

A fact both of them were very deliberately not addressing so far. If Selene did so now, it would mean that he would have to acknowledge the fact that what he felt for her had moved past simple desire long ago as well. 

You threw yourself between her and danger without the slightest hesitation not caring for your own safety, part of him whispered. For how many people in the galaxy would you do that?

For exactly one. 

And since she seemed to be even deeper entangled with the Resistance than he had ever imagined that was a kriffing problem. 

“You do realize that Takodana is frequented by a lot of spies? That information will certainly reach both Pryde and the Resistance,” he commented instead. 

“Believe me, I am probably more aware of what that means than you are,” Selene murmured, her eyes on the star-studded space outside again. “If it ever comes to it, we will have to say it was part of the mission. I could not let you get killed after all.” 

While that was true, the dejected expression on her face showed that she did not really think people would believe it. She did not say again that she did not care what people said about her, he noted. 

Hux had a feeling that the confrontation with Kenata had shaken her more than she led on. There had been a few moments were he had seen real pain flash in her golden eyes at her friend’s disapproval. While he did believe Selene that she did not really care for most people’s opinion, earning your own friends open displeasure was something else.  
And Kenata had come around surprisingly quick, her demeanor towards him more polite than he would have expected under the circumstances. 

His Co-Commander had more to lose than he did, if their affair ever became public knowledge, he realized. Sure, Pryde would use this against him, but if it was not this infringement he would find something else, so it did not really matter all that much. 

But Selene? Her reputation would suffer terribly throughout the whole galaxy, her friends and acquaintances beyond her own crew turning away from her, since they were mostly Resistance supporters for sure. Hux suddenly remembered how he had warned Lieutenant Tosla of something like that regarding his dalliance with Be’amara earlier today. But then the Zi’daya pilot was not sleeping with General Starkiller himself, so the fallout would be incomparable worse. 

Looking over at Selene, the beautiful lines of her face illuminated by the ship’s instruments, he asked himself again, why in the blazes of the universe she ever hooked up with him. His unease made him comment on something else.  
“So any other disgruntled ex-lovers that I should know about?” He coughed, as she narrowed her eyes at him in annoyance. “Only to be prepared, if one of them wants to shoot me again, of course.” 

“In my defense. I was very young.” Selene blushed slightly. “And very stupid.”  
Uggh, that meant she really slept with Miari.  
She must have seen the distaste on his face because she rolled her eyes. “Oh please, as if there isn’t some kind of embarrassing affair in your past as well.”  
“No,” he answered truthfully. “There actually isn’t.”  
She scoffed. “Fine. You are a paragon of sensible decision making then. Flawed as I am in comparison, there have been a few wild times in my life.” 

A few wild times? He stared at her, his mouth opening against his own better judgement. “So there are some more bountyhunters and criminals among your ex-lovers?”  
Stars, how many men had there been before him? Not that it was any of his business, but… 

The way Selene’s eyes focused on him with a certain glint in them, was warning him that he was treading on dangerous ground. “Do you actually want to know with how many men I slept in my life?”  
“No?” Yes, and a list would be nice, so that he could make sure they all ended up in the Order’s database for suspicious persons. He definitely had to check, if Miari was in there, when they returned to the Finalizer. 

Selene looked at him for a long moment, before she suddenly laughed and put one arm behind her head, leaning against her seat. “You know, I don’t have a problem with telling you.” Her tone was nonchalant. She deliberated for a few seconds and shrugged. “Around twenty.” 

“What?!” Hux caught himself, before he could say anything else, but his mind was reeling, as he stared out of the viewport. Blast it, did that mean whatever was between them was really nothing more than a fleeting dalliance for her? A little fun before she moved on again?

“You have to tell me now as well,” she demanded, bristling at his reaction.  
“Four,” he gave her a very deliberate look. “Including you.” He had never felt comfortable enough with the intimacy of sleeping with someone to consider any brief affairs. 

“Oh,“ there was real surprise on Selene’s face, before it turned pensive. “Oh,” she repeated, obviously coming to some kind of conclusion. He wondered what exactly went through her head in that moment. 

“Could you please stop doing this?” She grumbled in an annoyed tone, after another minute in silence.  
“Stop doing what?”  
“That expression of yours, where you just exude silent disapproval without even saying anything.” 

Realizing he did not want her to get angry about this, Hux sighed. “Listen, I honestly don’t care with how many men you slept before me. Even if it were hundreds… “  
Although he would not mind, if they all ended up in Kessel’s spice mines or somewhere similar.  
“Wait, I said twenty that is quite far from…”  
He gave her a provoking smile, trying to lighten the mood. “As long as we agree that I am the best you ever had.”  
He had kind of expected her to fire back with a quip of her own immediately, but instead she bit her lip, blushing violently.  
“That’s completely ridiculous…”  
But he already felt smug satisfaction rise up inside him at her telling reaction, his smile turning predatory. “Oh, I am.”  
“You are impossible,“ she growled, although the way her lip twitched told him, her anger was only feigned. 

“What did you say to the Barabel, by the way?” Hux asked curiously. “It completely changed Tzaa Ki’tzirii’s mood.”  
“Ohhh,” Selene gave him a mock compassionate look. “Don’t you speak the language?”  
“I told you before, the Order…”  
“Yeah, yeah, does not teach the languages of criminals.” She scoffed. “If I did not know better I would suspect you were just too lazy to go to the language classes.”  
“I will have you know, I speak a lot of important languages.” Hux grumbled, a little peeved at her criticism. 

“Well, be that as it may. You should love this.” She grinned cheekily.” I told them that you are quite the conqueror for the First Order. But since the Barabel place as much importance on prowess in the bedchamber as on the battlefield I might have added that you are also conquering me at least six times a night.” 

“What? Please tell me you are kidding.” However, the way the Zi’daya giggled in amusement indicated she really said that. “Selene, that’s completely exaggerated.” 

“Don’t worry, a little exaggeration is kind of expected.” She tilted her head at him with a smile. “Mmh, and I am sure you did have enough conquering fantasies about me so it is not really untrue.” Since the moment, he first met her, but that was a truth too embarrassing to mention. 

A blazing fire had appeared in Selene’s eyes, Hux only knew too well by now. She got out of her seat, moving towards him and leaning over him. His own desire that had simmered under the surface during their whole discussion flamed up wildly again, the urge to possess her in some way overwhelming. “I thought you considered me too badly wounded for anything like that?” he commented, his voice more than a little rough. 

“Don’t worry,“ her lips trailed over his neck, her scent of summer and berries clouding his senses. “I will make sure you don’t have to move much.”

Her breath whispering against his ear, she murmured. “Remember that meeting we had at the beginning? I am quite sure you would have loved to put me under your command then.”  
Hux looked at her, taking in the soft flush on her cheeks and the way her breath had quickened. Oh stars, yes. 

“I think you said it yourself Commander, I would love to have you on your knees.” Excitement flashed in her golden eyes, as she slowly moved down his body.

“And then?” Selene breathed, a slight catch in her voice. The image of her like that, on her knees, that half destroyed shirt tight over her breasts, her eyes shining up at him from under her lashes, made him so hard that he could not help a groan escaping him.  
She smiled in satisfaction and slowly wet her lips with her tongue. Kriff, something snapped inside him, his uninjured hand burying in her hair harsher then intended. “Put that pretty mouth around my cock.”

She did not seem to mind though, her hands going to his trousers immediately to free him. The first touch of her tongue to his skin, was so exquisite that his head went back against his seat, his eyes closing. He sighed, when her mouth closed around him, taking him in completely. “Oh, Selene, yes.” As he gave himself over to the pleasure of her touch, one last clear thought went through his head: she had lied to the Barabel after all, because he was quite sure she had conquered him. 

Tay raised the blaster in his hand and pulled the trigger with more than a little anticipation thrumming through his veins. A self-satisfied smile flashed over his face, as a white beam shot out of it, sizzling over the practice target wildly.  
Oh Rhea help him, he really was just kriffing brilliant, wasn’t he?  
He frowned a second at the way the blaster had heated up in his hand and powered down completely now, but that was something he would work on next.  
Still, for four days this was pretty impressive. 

Tay activated his comms, calling Selene. He was in the mood to tease her a little with his success.  
Unfortunately, she did not answer. Blast it, where was she? He frowned. He should probably inform Shima as her second in command, then. But that would be boring, wouldn’t it be?

Before he could overthink his actions, he had made another call.  
“Sa’onserei,” there was detached amusement in Captain Opan’s cool blue eyes, as he answered him. “I have been gone from your quaint little planet for only a few days and you are already chasing after me? Some people would call that desperate.” 

Tay kept his face carefully composed. As disturbing as it was, it was quite nice to see Opan’s lean face again. But he would definitely not let him know that. “Captain, don’t overestimate your allure. I am actually in need of information. And since you are the Information officer…”  
“Cute,” the First Order Captain commented on his rather lame wordplay. 

“Do you know where my beloved sister might be?” Tay made a disgusted face. “Stars, I hope not occupied with Hux again.”  
“Unfortunately, I have to disappoint you.” There was something that looked a lot like irritation shimmering in Opan’s eyes. “The General and your sister are on some kind of mission together.”  
“What? Where to?”  
“I don’t know. They did not find it prudent to inform me of their destination.” The emotion in those blue eyes was very clearly vexation now. “I do hope they are really investigating a lead regarding your ancestor though and not just shacked up in some kind of love nest.” 

Tay scoffed. “Knowing my sister, probably both.” He tilted his head mockingly. “But you admitting to not being privy to such vital information. I have to say I am a bit disappointed. I thought you are the best the First Order has to offer, Captain.” 

The Zi’daya had to suppress a smile at the way Opan’s eyes narrowed for a moment, a telling twitch to his cheek. Oh, he had hit a mark, hadn’t he? This was nearly as satisfactory as getting that blaster to work. 

“What do you want Sa’onserei? As tantalizing as this conversation has been so far, it is already quite late on our side.” Indeed, Tay saw some signs of exhaustion on the First Order officer’s face, those blue eyes less intense than he was used to. 

“Oh, I don’t want to keep you from your beauty sleep, Captain.” He grinned sassily. “Or to be more precise I would love to but not with something as boring as a holo call about my sister’s whereabouts.” 

“Sa’onserei…” there was exasperation in Opan’s voice, but Tay also caught the quick flash of heat in his eyes, before they turned deliberately cool again. “Is there any other purpose to this call than to hassle me?” 

The Zi’daya laughed. “I wanted to dazzle you with my brilliance.” He picked up the blaster again, power finally recharged during their conversation. “Watch this.”  
Opan blinked in surprise, as white lightening shot out of the weapon, hitting the target violently. “What was that?” he exclaimed.  
“The first blaster to be powered by a kyber crystal ever.” Tay explained proudly. He shrugged. “While the time for recharging is too long to make them really useful in ordinary battle, they do pack quite the punch.”  
“And you think they will help us against those kriffing creatures?”  
“There have been some hints in the notes Mitaka and Elodia are going through that indicate it, yes.” 

Opan’s scrutinized him for a moment, his face taking on an expression of grudging respect. “You know Sa’onserei that is rather impressive.”

Tay gave him a wide smile. “Thank you, I do my best.” It was nice to be appreciated after all. “I can probably make around a dozen of those with the resources we have. I will sent them to you, when Mitaka and Elodia return to the Finalizer.” 

His smiled turned challenging. “Speaking of impressive. That was a nice little virus you planted in our network the other day.”  
The Captain’s lip twitched. “Oh, caught on to that?”  
“Oh, yes,“ Tay raised an eyebrow. “I think I programmed a similar one once. When I was twelve. Or ten.”  
Opan scoffed. “I was a little pressed for time.” 

“Mmmh, I do wonder, when you found the opportunity to do it, if I am honest,” he had been quite sure he had not let him out of his eyes long enough to plant anything.  
“Perhaps you should have spent more time staring at my hands than my ass then.” The Information officer’s smile was deadly.  
The Zi’daya touched his breast dramatically, as if wounded. “You want to tell me you only flirted with me to spy on me? Oh, I am devastated by such cruelty.” 

Something flickered in Opan’s eyes, his voice turning solemn suddenly. “You do realize it would be incredible foolish to be caught supporting the Resistance, don’t you Sa’onserei?”

Kriff, Tay thought, that had nearly sounded like a warning. Could it be that the First Order Captain had really found something? He had to get him of that trail. 

“You know, I am wondering something else. “ His own tone was not playful any longer, but a lot colder. “Best of your year at the First Order Academy, Brendol Hux’ personal aide and then the Information officer of his son, the very man that has been rumored to have ordered his death. There has to be an interesting story there.” 

Opan’s expression turned very still. “And what kind of story do you think, there is?” 

“Oh, I don’t know.” The Zi’daya tilted his head, as if deliberating. “I just find it curious that nobody ever asked how that beetle could get into Brendol Hux’ rooms. After all there were only two people with access to it.” He shrugged. “I could understand it you know. He had a reputation for being cruel, especially towards those closest to him. And sometimes enough is just enough.” 

A surprising amount of dismay flashed through Opan’s eyes for a split second, before it was swiftly replaced by fury. “You know absolutely nothing,” he snapped. 

Tay felt guilt wash through him at the obvious sign that he had brought back painful memories. But then he was planning to blow the man up with ship, didn’t he? It shouldn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. 

But something about the glimpse of vulnerability that he had caught on Opan’s face made him strangely contrite for his own words. “I am sorry, I should not have said that,” he murmured. 

Blue eyes met his in clear astonishment for a long moment. Their glacial look softened slightly and the Captain shook his head. “Stars, what is it with you kriffing Zi’daya.” 

“Ah,” Tay chuckled. “It is just our natural charm. Very hard to resist.” 

Opan scoffed. “More like a natural ability to drive people crazy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So ladies and gentlemen, we have reached the halfway point of this fic ;-) 
> 
> I would really appreciate your comments and thoughts, since I am a bit in that mood where I don't like anything I write. especially since I fear the next chapter a little. 
> 
> There will actually be a short hiatus, since we are moving in the next weeks and I will probably not be able to write much. 
> 
> The next chapter will be. "Breaking Point"  
> The Shoyul attacking a rebel friendly space station brings to the forefront all of Hux' worst instincts, forcing Selene and her crew to make a harrowing decision where their allegiances really lie.


End file.
